When we utter the word "Autism", something strikes our mind. That is the name of our Prime Minister's adorable daughter, Saima Wazed Putul who has been relentlessly working as an internationally renowned expert on autism and the President of the Bangladesh National Advisory Committee on Autism and Neurodevelopment Disorders.
Her ubiquity in various autism related programs and events every now and then and her continued endeavours to create awareness among people have largely helped erase a stigma attached to the autistic children in our society and recognize their dormant talents both at home and abroad.
Autistic children are generally ignored at best and at worst ostracized worldwide. But we could easily understand how intelligent the autistic children are from a quote of a renowned professor: "Who do you think made the first stone spears?
The Asperger guy. If you were to get rid of all the autism genetics, there would be no more Silicon Valley." This was exactly said by Dr. Temple Grandin, a prominent author and speaker on both autism and animal behaviour and a professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University.
Yesterday, April 3 was the World Autism Awareness Day. The occasion has been acknowledged and approved by the United Nations General Assembly's Day of Observance since 2008. The day aims to put a spotlight on the hurdles that children and other people with autism face every day. Autism has become a global health issue that has been increasingly gaining more understanding and the day's activities are planned every year to further develop knowledge of children and adults who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
What's more, World Autism Awareness Day goes one step further to celebrate the unique talents of those with autism, while putting a huge focus on the warm embrace and welcome that these skills deserve through community events around the globe.
Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental disorder characterized by behavioural and communicational problems that impact a person's ability to navigate social interactions and also causes repetitive and restricted behaviour. The first historical appearance of the word "Autism" was made in 1911 by the psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler, who used the term to describe a specific cluster of symptoms that were considered simple symptoms of schizophrenia.
To establish the rights of autistic people, the UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) adopted in 2015 focused on ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting life-long learning opportunities for all as the foundation for improving people's lives and reducing inequalities. Its specific targets refer to the need to ensure "equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for persons with disabilities and building and upgrading education facilities that are disability sensitive. According to a study, there are around 168 million autistic people mostly children across the world.
In Bangladesh, an estimated 300,000 children are affected with autism. One in every 94 boys and one in every 150 girls are likely to suffer from autism. As per a study by the Ministry of Social Welfare of Bangladesh, autism is prevalent among 3% of the total population.
To alleviate the sufferings of autistic people, Saima Wazed has been working tirelessly for the last 15 years. Her aim is to de-stigmatize and transform the lives of children with special needs and their families and enable them to lead successful, happy and meaningful lives in an inclusive society.
Saima Wazed is an expert on neurodevelopment disorders and mental health and an accomplished speaker and author. A licensed school psychologist, she was appointed as WHO's Goodwill Ambassador for Autism in South-East Asia region in 2017. Her relentless efforts have led to adoption of an International Declaration on Autism and 3 international resolutions on autism. In 2013, she was the designated speaker for the government of Bangladesh at the Special High Level Event on Disabilities at the United Nations General Assembly, New York. In 2014 she was the first recipient of Excellence in Public Health Award by WHO-SEARO, and in 2015, she was made WHO-SEARO's Regional Champion for Autism.
Saima Wazed is the beacon of hopes for the autistic children not only in Bangladesh but also across the world. We believe that people suffering from autism would get great benefits from her leadership and persistent efforts to integrate themselves into the mainstream society.
The writer is a senior journalist
