Year 2021 turned out to be another Productive and Remarkable year for Autism without Borders. New benchmarks were set in Spreading Autism Awareness and training healthcare providers and children caregivers in Autism Screening. First Ever Autism Virtual conference in Pakistan was arranged by Autism without Borders in Collaboration with PPA (Pakistan Pediatric Association) and Konpal Child Abuse and Prevention Society. Well-known National and International Speakers and Panelists graced the session with their presence. Arranged on 3rd April, Theme of Conference was “Transition to Adulthood”. This grand event was attended and later on viewed by more than 5K viewers. In its journey of Education, training and services; Autism without Borders achieved one more objective of building capacity through collaborative approach and had 3 collaborations this year; we joined hands with SNIC Rehab Foundation India, South Asian Canadian Health and Social Services (SACHSS) Canada and Rise & Smile Foundation UK. Almost 22 Awareness webinars were arranged this year which marked topics as “Behavioural issues in children, their Reasons and Management” for ZMT Clinics Network and SNIC India, “Speech related disorders and pre-speech skills”, “Managing Anxiety in Autism and other disabilities”, ‘Teaching life Skills to Individuals with special needs’ , ‘Autism Awareness and Management, Screening before Diagnosis’ for Quetta and India chapter, ‘Managing sensory issues and stimming behavior in children with special needs’. ‘Rationale of training Pediatricians and Special Educators in Diagnosis and Management of Autism’, ” Role of Physiotherapy in Primary Health Care”, “Let’s know what is Occupational therapy and how it can benefit my child”, “Problems faced by Parents in Diagnosis and Management of ASD in Pakistan & UK”, “ Early Recognition and Community based Management of Autism” and ”Issues & Challenges in Children with Disabilities”. These awareness sessions were viewed by almost 12K viewers from different parts of the world.
The increase in prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder demands training in this field in its Diagnosis and Management. Autism without Borders team realizes this need and arranged 3 training workshops in year 2021. Foremost was 3 days Free Master trainer workshop ‘Empowering Children Caregivers in Child health’ which was arranged in collaboration of SNIC India. This helped us in creating 35 Master Trainers. They were awarded Certificate of Attendance. We received an overwhelming response of this training due to which we have enrolled participants for Master Trainer 2 program in Year 2022. Besides that Refresher course on Preventive Pediatrics and Screening of Children at ZMT Well Baby Clinics was arranged which was attended by almost 80 healthcare Providers. ASM AWB Project Hyderabad Chapter – Liaqat University of Medical and Health Sciences(LUMHS) arranged one Day interactive Workshop on ” Autism Awareness, Screening and Management”. Almost 70 participants including Pediatricians,. Postgraduates, medical officers and special educators attended the session.
Autism Without Border through its Autism Surveillance and Management Project reached masses via different Social Media and Print Media Platforms including Facebook, website, WhatsApp, Youtube and Newspapers. 36 short trainings were also given on WhatsApp groups in addition to Grand awareness webinars and training workshops; various Awareness and knowledgeable posts were shared on our Facebook page for our followers; Recordings of Live sessions are also available on our FB Page.
Different success stories of Children with Autism and other disabilities are also shared with Public for motivation and giving parents a hope. For Referral Mechanism Autism Blue Book is available at our website Autism Without Borders having more than 230 entries of Institutes and Professionals in all the four provinces of Pakistan catering to the needs of Children with different abilities especially Autism. More than 2000 screenings were performed and guided using M.CHAT and CAST Screening tools for Infants and child respectively which are available at our website www.autismwithoutborders.ca.
Nonetheless hundreds of Free Individual Consultations and counselling were provided under the umbrella of Autism without Borders by Project Director and Coordinator to serve community at large.
This is just a beginning and a small contribution by Autism Without Borders to spread awareness, create acceptance and promote management of this Pandemic named as Autism Spectrum Disorder but we need more people to join hands with us and serve community in this aspect through human and financial resources. Looking forward to more years of commitment, dedication and serving humanity.
To give your valuable suggestions, comments and for any query feel free to mail us on Autism.awb@gmail.com
Nadia Riaz– Project Coordinator