Autism is Not a Tragedy...Ignorance is !

Tak sempurna rasanya kalau saya tidak catat sedikit apa kata YAB Perdana Menteri, apa kata Patron Seminar Otisma, YABerbahagia Datin Seri Rosmah Mansur, dan juga apa kata pakar-pakar professional yang memberi pendapat pada hari itu.

Untuk memudahkan usaha saya, saya catat beberapa fakta yang saya fahami terus dalam bahasa Inggeris. Saya tinggalkan fakta yang teknikal kerana itu adalah bidang khusus dan saya tidak dapat memahami semuanya. Yang saya catat di bawah ini pun apa yang saya dengari dengan minda seorang yang langsung tidak tahu apa itu otisma secara saintifik. 

Cuma saya catat juga mudah-mudahan saya tidak jahil sepenuhnya......

• The seminar is timely as it signifies the importance of increasing knowledge and understanding of ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), failing which the the consequence may be tragic as the sheer magnitude of ignorance towards the Disorder is alarming. It is for this reason that we choose the theme "Autism is not a tragedy, Ignorance is".

• ASD is not a mental illness. Considering it as so has led to many cases left unattended because of a misplaced attitude of self denial. In some countries it becomes a cultural phenomena and building awareness in society becomes a long and difficult struggle. 

• Prejudice is difficult to erase and the consequences can be a contributing cause in the difficulty of acquiring social skills, an important element in a purposeful life of an individual.  ASD is a lifelong condition and a larger number of adults with ASD can be taxing on the overall national budget on social services.

• Parents must be empowered so as to enable them to care for their needy child in a proper manner and in a proper environment. 

• Autism develops early and over time requiring the need to develop very early interventions. The effects of  these early signs of autism includes the acquisition of foundational skills such as social development, cognitive development and learning and acquiring language.

• Early intervention is most effective at age 3 years or so. Parents must be fully involved. Parents can improve child engagement with peers and with adults.

• Research is highly required in various fields especially on issues of early intervention. Research is cross discipline in nature and in order for a country to be effective in its program of early intervention, that country must also ensure related fields like child psychiatry, early childhood development, specialized classroom teachers and many more must be simultaneously and concurrently developed.

• What is the future of Autism ? Let it be known that widespread awareness and appreciation that autism is a disorder that is biological in origin but manifest in behaviour. --- Behaviour should be the target for both diagnosis and treatment.--- Knowledge that CHANGE is possible, and the earlier the child is diagnosed the greater the chance of achieving significant improvement with the implementation of effective intervention.

Sampai di sini sahaja catatan saya. Semoga dapat difahami.

Autism di Malaysia di kendali terus oleh PERMATA. Dan PERMATA KURNIA dibentuk semata-mata untuk menangani isu anak-anak istimewa. Saya difahamkan ia bermula dengan Otisma. Ini akan dituruti pula dengan keistimewaan yang lainnya. PERMATA bergabung dengan berbagai pihak dari dalam dan luar negara.

Namun dihujung kata-kata yang bersemangat oleh Perdana Menteri dan Wanita utama negara Malaysia, seharusnya ada "political will" untuk memberi peruntukan yang mencukupi. Dan saya mengharapkan program ini tidak berbentuk "elitist". Ia harus merangkumi semua golongan yang memerlukan pertolongan. Sekarang ini kemudahan yang ada amat terhad dan ibu-bapa terpaksa menggunakan khidmat swasta yang kosnya agak tinggi dan diluar kemampuan ibu-bapa yang biasa-biasa.

InsyaAllah dengan kegigihan dan keikhlasan pemimpin negara,

 anak-anak istimewa akan mendapat perhatian sewajarnya dan mereka tidak akan membebankan masyarakat apabila dewasa kelak.

Semoga Allah memudahkan segalanya

dan dapatlah kita merasakan suatu harapan yang cerah .

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