Tharoor Says More Special Schools Needed to Help Autistic Children

Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor has said that more special schools can create awareness among parents and help in social acceptance of children with neurological disorders.

Tharoor said that a new centre for excellence for autism would be opened shortly by an NGO in the Gurgaon.

Autism Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prognosis
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder typically characterized by impaired social and communication skills combined with repetitive movements.

The NGO, Special Child Trust, will open the centre in alliance with New England Centre for Children (NECC), a non-profit autism research and education centre.

"Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability across the world and early intervention can play a pivotal role in the absorption of people with autism in the mainstream," Tharoor said.

"We will open the centre by October. Initially, it will cater to children aged between three to 12. We will have three classrooms with 24 children in each. The centre for autism kids will be extended in a phased manner," said Sameer Nayar, co-founder of the Special Child Trust.

Rett Syndrome – Causes – Symptoms – Signs – Diagnosis - Treatment
Rett Syndrome is a neurological disorder that affects development. It mostly affects the girl child.

The new centre for autism will have Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), which is an analytical, research-based, data driven tool for intervention for children on the autism spectrum.

There has been a staggering six-fold increase in autism cases in India, from 20 lakh in 2003 to 1.36 crore at present.

Autism Expert Discusses Expanded Clinical Services for Childhood Disorders
Fred R. Volkmar, M.D., director of the Yale Child Study Center and a renowned expert in autism and related disorders, will discuss the expansion of the Center’s specialty clinical services

Source-IANS