Adnan Al-Shabrawi and Mariam Al-Suqair Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — There are only five specialized centers to take care of more than 200,000 autistic children in various parts of the Kingdom, the chairwoman of the Welfare Society for Families of Autistic Children said on Monday. Princess Sameera Bint Abdullah Al-Farhan Al-Saud said there are other small centers for children with learning difficulties that are not specialized. She said autistic children in the Kingdom need more specialized centers for them. The princess said many Saudi families send their autistic children for care and medication abroad. "At present there are more than 850 autistic Saudi children in Jordan, where there are specialized centers for them," she said. She asked the ministries of health, social affairs and education to coordinate among themselves to establish specialized centers to take good care of autistic children. The princess recalled that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has ordered the establishment of specialized centers for autistic citizens and said these centers should take care of the largest possible number of autistic children and cater to their needs. She suggested that the morning period in these centers should be dedicated to young children who are capable of learning while the evening periods should be assigned to older ones. "The centers should be designed as integrated social havens to provide all services to citizens suffering from autism," she said. She blamed the Ministry of Health for not giving sufficient care to autistic children and said the ministry does not follow up their medical treatment or medication prescribed for them. She also asked the Ministry of Education to design special syllabuses for autistic children and said the ministry was not delivering on its responsibility toward them. The princess urged the ministry to review its conditions for accepting autistic children in its schools. She asked the Ministry of Social Affairs to review its annual assistance of SR20,000 to each family with autistic children and said the annual treatment and rehabilitation costs for a single autistic child is more than SR130,000. Meanwhile, the Jeddah Autism Center will on April 2 observe the International Day of Autism with many activities aimed at integrating this section of people into society.
