A seminar on autism was held on March 11 at the Riyadh Palace Hotel with world-renowned autism awareness activist Saima Wazed Hossain as keynote speaker. All speakers discussed autism, a physical condition linked to abnormal biology and chemistry in the brain, and how most parents of autistic children suspect that something is wrong by the time the child is 18 months old. Parents seek help by the time the child is 24 months old or two years old, they said. The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the number of autism cases across the world is apparently on the rise. As of April 2011, autism affects as many as 1 in every 110 children in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly declared April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day in perpetuity. Every year on the said day, autism organizations all over the globe mark the day with awareness and fund-raising activities. Hossain visited the Kingdom at the invitation of Princess Samira Bint Abdullah Al Faisal Al Farhan Al Saud, President of Saudi Autistic Society, also Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Autistic Families Association of Saudi Arabia. Hossain is a US-licensed school psychologist and autism expert, the daughter of Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina and the late nuclear scientist Dr. M.A. Wazed Miah. She is also Chairperson of Bangladesh National Advisory Committee on Autism, also campaigner of the Global Autism Public Health Initiative and the World Health Organization (WHO). As autism is a global problem, Princess Samira and Hossain exchanged views and expertise on how to best address the needs of autistic children and raise services to a global standard. The seminar was arranged by the Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) Riyadh Branch, a Bangladeshi expatriate doctors' association. Other members of the delegation were Lt. Col. Mohd. Fakrul Ahsan, principal of Proyash, an army-run institute for educating of autistic children, and Dr. Mazharul Mannan, program coordinator at Global Autism Center for Public Health. Ambassador of Bangladesh Mohd. Shahidul Islam, his wife Madam Shahnaz Islam, other diplomats, honorable guests from the Saudi Autistic Society, several Bangladeshi doctors and community members were present at the seminar. Dr. Mannan and Dr. Abdul Malek Mollah, consultant pediatrician at Yamama Hospital Riyadh, showed video slides to the audience. BMA President Dr. Emmarat Hossain presided over the seminar, which was conducted by Dr. Sk. Momtazul Islam, BMA acting general secretary. Dr. Sharifa Naznin offered Hossain a bouquet of flowers while Dr. Kazi Masud presented her with a crest. — SG __
