Autism Children's Temporary Care Centers will be launched soon

Autism, or autism spectrum disorder, refers to a range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication, as well as by unique strengths and differences. Lack of interest in peer relationships, lack of or delay in spoken language, lack of spontaneous or make-believe play and persistent fixation on parts of objects are among other signs of this disorder.

According to statistics provided by the Autism Society of Iran, for every 65 births in developed countries, a child with autism disorder is born. This proportion in Iran is a child with autism disorder for every 150 births and some 700,000 Iranians are estimated to suffer from autism, though only 3,000 autistics have been diagnosed in the country till date.

Although awareness towards autism has increased in Iran during recent years, families with autistic children are still voicing complaint about lack of support by national organizations. The families of autistic children face a wide range of challenges from the high price of drugs to lack of standard schools and caring centers.

The director of the Special Education Organization, Majid Qadami, affiliated with the Ministry of Education, mentioned plans for establishing schools for children with autism in Tehran on the 3rd International Autism Conference, December 2017. He emphasized that the organization’s main approach is to let special kids study alongside normal students, if at all possible, since they should be able to interact in the society and this is a skill which is learned at schools.

According to salamatnews, Currently, there are 74 autism centers active in Iran, providing services to some 3,000 children, however there are no 24-7 centers because experts believe that setting up such centers means rejecting a child with autism from family and society. Autistics’ main problem is poor communication and early diagnosis of autism spectrum will lead to having a normal life for 80 percent of patients.

The new centers will take care of children with autism for a limited period, for instance 15 days to 1 month, so that parents can rest or have a trip.

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