KARACHI - Provincial Secretary for Special Education Sindh Ahsan Ali Mangi said that the government will establish second autism centre in May at Gulistan-e-Johar.

The provincial secretary while addressing the audience as a chief guest said these words at the Autism Awareness Session held at The Arag Auditorium organised by the Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Center of Dow University of Health Sciences on Monday.

He said the centre would be dedicated for the children up to the age of 18 years affected from the autism disease.

Moreover, the act for the heir ship and other such legal rights for these affected children would also be passed by the Sindh Assembly before July this year, he added.

Dow University of Health Sciences Pro Vice Chancellor Professor Khawar Saeed Jamali, Dr Nabila Soomro, Dr Irum Rizwan and the parents of the affected children also expressed their views at the event. The provincial secretary said that the center will provide education and vocational training to the children up to the age of 18 years which was not introduced or available before in any government sector.

He said the autism centre is first of its kinds in the provision of education and training to the autism affected children which is established at Dow University of Health and Sciences, before that the all centres established used to provide educational and professional training to the children up to the age of 12 years only, he added. He said the Sindh government is planning to construct hostels which would cater for the accommodation of people even over the age of 18 years.

In these centres, autism patients will not only be able to live a routine life but also they can earn their livelihood through special skills taught to them, he added.

Professor Khawar Saeed Jamali questioned the audience that: we intentionally break the traffic signal and violate other civic laws, so can we be called as ‘Normal Human Being’.

He further added that, we need to understand the difference between normal and special people, because anyone at anytime can behave abnormal and fall in the category special persons through his deeds and acts.

At the awareness session, the parents of the autism children told the audience that their children have shown a significant amount of progress after dedicated education and training provided to them.

They no more create problems for their parents and have learnt to live their routine life like other normal children. The autism affected children presented a variety of tableaus and sung national songs at the beginning.