(From left) Shamilah, Dr Kamal, Dr Raj and Suresh pictured before the roundtable session on Saturday.
MIRI (April 18): A roundtable discussion on ‘Autism: Stigma and Vulnerability’ held last Saturday (April 15), by the Federation of Reproductive Health Associations, Malaysia (FRHAM), focussed on the inclusiveness of autism, the needs and rights of people in autism spectrum and the importance of having a good support system for autistic people.
Autism advocate Suresh Unnikrishnan highlighted on the need to identify children with autism, by observing the symptoms that showed.
“The autism spectrum is very wide, from extreme to mild and high function, and at higher level – Asperger. The easiest way to explain autism would be inability to speak or speaking too much; hugging everyone or disliking touch, escaping outside; inappropriate clapping; fussy eater; screaming or humming, among other signs that are noticeable.”
Parents of children with autism, he added, should not shy away from the conversation about autism.
“Instead, if their child is diagnosed, they must first accept that their child is autistic; and that there are courses and curricula which may be able to help children with autism. Parents must take the initiative to learn about their children as well as autism to provide better support to their children,” he added.
In fact, he stressed, parents with autistic child or children must realise the need to get them properly diagnosed by medical specialists who have good knowledge of autism spectrum, because it would help parents to decide how to help their child/children.
“Based on the diagnosis and test results, the sooner parents start on the journey on early intervention with guidance of medical specialist, there will be bigger and positive impact for the child.
“There will be growth milestone, depending on whether the child is on which level of the spectrum,” Suresh said, while reminding parents to not overly focus on milestone as it may lead to opposite result and may cause abuse to the kid.
Meanwhile, FRHAM chairman Associate Professor Dr Kamal Kenny, who has been advocating children with special needs from sexual abuse, stressed that aside from society’s stigma on autism, one in four children with disability have experienced abuse, which shows that they are the most vulnerable and prone to abuse.
“They are not able to articulate when it comes to sexuality, therefore, we should teach them, for instance, good touch and bad touch.
“The ratio of caregivers to children with disability is huge in the country and it may cause high risk of abuse against children with disability.
“A lot of people don’t understand that it is pertinent to look out for cues of sexual abuse of children with special needs. The latter are often defenceless, have higher dependence on caregivers and fewer self-protection skills.”
Thus, it is vital to make the difference in efforts to reduce physical and sexual violence on children with disabilities, he added.
In advocating for people with autism, the social psychologist feels that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, thus, a tailored programme is a must to ensure that it meets the needs and learning ways of these children.
Malaysian Council for Child Welfare (MKKM) president Datuk Dr Raj Abdul Karim in her key point said though MKKM did not come up with policies, there is a policy for children with disabilities and autism falls in the category.
“There is also a national council for autism as announced by former Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin that had been proposed and would be set up. There is room for improvement where targeted policies must be put in place to accommodate autism,” said Dr Raj.
Speaking of stakeholder and community support to help individuals with autism, she suggested integration of programmes, collaboration with government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other organisations as the participation of all is important in working towards a shared goal.
She also suggested special education system to provide training for teachers to teach children with autism, because the latter’s way of learning may differ compared to the standard learning.
The roundtable, moderated by Shamilah Rajendran and held at FRHAM’s headquarters in Selangor, was in partnership with MKKM and supported by Mahsa International School. It was broadcasted through Zoom and social media with the participation from media practitioners in and around the country.