TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Saying that one out of 88 children are afflicted with autism ~ a communication disorder, Governor Bharat Vir Wanchoo pushed for early intervention, especially as there is no cure for the condition.
“It is, indeed, sad and also in a way frightening, that this major problem is on the increase, with one in every 88 children reportedly suffering from autism,” he said adding, “Lack of proper awareness, delay in accurate diagnosis, absence of specialist services on the expected scale and the cost involved for intervention are some of the challenges, which need to be addressed adequately and fast.”
He said that early intervention implies not only awareness and early identification but also acceptance of the problem.
“This is perhaps critical because treatment of children afflicted by autism should ideally start at the age of two years so that the child gets the maximum opportunity to attain age-appropriate-behaviour and skills by the time of school entry age of five years, thereby enabling the child to become part of the mainstream,” he said.
The Governor was speaking at the inauguration of a two-day internal national meet of the COM-DEALL TRUST being organized to deliberate on the current challenges in dealing with communication disorder problems in children such as Autism Spectrum Disorder.
The Governor said Goa is fortunate to have a Neuro-Rehabilitation Centre at the Goa Medical College that caters to the needs of children with such disabilities and that NGOs like Sethu and Sangath are doing laudable work in this field.
Dr Pratibha Karanth, Director and Managing Trustee, Com-DEALL, Bengaluru welcomed and Deepa Bhat Nair, partnerships and communication coordinator proposed the vote of thanks. Dr Farrahnaz Katrak, Occupational therapist, Com DEALL (Mumbai) compered.
