Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said that the establishment of Centre for Autism Rehabilitation and Training Sindh (C-ARTS) in public sector is a great achievement of Sindh government. He said this, speaking at inaugural of C-ARTS at Gulistan-e-Jauhar, here on Saturday.
PPP chairman asked Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to establish its satellite centre in rural areas of the province. He said poor people living in rural areas of the province had no knowledge of autism and if someone manages to diagnose the problem in his child, he has no resources to rehabilitate the child. He announced such centres would be established in rural areas of the province as well.
He said rehabilitation of the children with autism was a gigantic task and involved some dedicated professionals who had not only known the delicacy of problem but must have a tendered and loving heart. He emphasised that the children with autism need our love, care and affection for rehabilitation.
Bilawal appreciated Sindh Chief Minister for establishing such a beautiful centre where more that 15,000 children have been enrolled. "I am quite happy to see parents of the children with autism are being given training to handle their children," he said, adding that state-of-the-art institute would flourish and provide its best services because it has a best team to run and look after it.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Shah said that autism was a neurological development disorder which was characterised by deficits in communication, social interaction and repetitive behaviour. Quoting Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) reports, Shah said prevalence of autism spectrum disorder was in one in 168 children in United Sates.
"In Pakistan, although statistics are not available to us but by the number of cases reported by the government and private sector bodies indicated autism on the rise in our country," he said, adding it was urgently needed to have trained professionals who could diagnose condition and then to have rehab specialist who could provide treatment facilities in government sector to children with autism.
The chief minister said Sindh government always maintained health of its people as an utmost priority, even more so where children are concerned. "It gives me great pleasure to announce that the centre (C-ARTS) formally inaugurated by PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is the first of its kind in Pakistan," he said, adding that this government institution would cater to children of all ages with autism, it would be home to the world's best practices.
He said that since long, private institutions have been charging heavy fee taking advantage of desperate parents. The C-ARTS would provide all those services free of cost, he announced. Murad Shah said that in addition to academics, C-ARTS would take special interest in developing skills that these children could use later to avail employment opportunities.
"Aiding them in this long journey will be the multifaceted team, including but not limited to special educators, occupational therapists, psychologists, speech therapists and skilled trainers for sports, music and art," he said, adding that it is equipped with a consultant clinic that would provide medical provisions to the children when required at all stages.
Earlier, Dr Nabila Soomro briefed the chairman on different stages being adopted to diagnose the problem and rehabilitate the affected children. Earlier, the Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari cut the tap to inaugurate the newly-constructed, multi-storey building of the C-ARTS and then visited different class rooms. He affectionately interacted with the children with autism in the class rooms.
The CM's special assistant Qasim Naveed also briefed the PPP chairman about the C-ARTS. Sindh Minister for Local Government Saeed Ghani, adviser to the Chief Minister Murtaza Wahab, chief secretary Mumtaz Shah and others were also present on the occasion.
The children with autism presented tableau on national song to welcome PPP chairman. Parents of the children also spoke on the occasion. They said they had been taking their children with autism to different private institutions but failed to receive such amazing services as were being provided here. They also lauded the efforts of the Sindh government in this regard.