CONNECTOR.AE 68 CONNECTOR.AE 69 Health and Wellness Health and Wellness receiving all the right care needed. Mohammed Al Emadi said, “If he needs more of a one to one therapy, then it is our clinic programme. If he needs a group programme, then we have the school set up, and depends on each case. At the clinic, we focus more on behaviour modification, speech development and motor skills through occupational therapy.” The school centre provides some of the best facilities to students with autism and ensure they are supported throughout the process. With four age categories, early intervention with ages 2 to 5 years old, school age from 6 to 12 years old, adolescence from 13 to 18 years old and young adults from 18 to 21 years old, the students are taught the important skills required according to their age level. At the early intervention stage, in order to give them the right care, two teachers are assigned to four children and from school age onwards are put in classes with six students and two teachers. Apart from the dedicated classrooms, the centre offers students a variety of recreational activities which also help in overall development from the art room, where they can unleash their creativity, the photography room, where they can learn how to capture pictures, a dark sensory room, where touch, smell and feel are prioritised to help stimulate the senses, robotics-assisted therapy, where commands are given by robots as a different approach to learning, that the child has autism, and then they go to the second step, which is assessment and diagnosis, where multi-disciplinary professionals from Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA), speech therapists, occupational therapists and Registered Behaviour Technician, people that are working with the kids, come and observe the child and their behaviour and abilities.” The assessment is not held over multiple sessions, and are recorded to identify if the child has autism. In situations where children showing autismlike symptoms come for assessment and consultation, however the results show that they do not have autism, they are then referred to a specialist and treated for the symptoms they displayed. Mohammed Al Emadi said, “Our goal is not to stamp a child with autism.” Dubai Autism Centre caters to students up to the ages of 21 years and has two different programmes, to ensure the students are and require additional assistance to complete tasks. Autism shows up around the age of three years, with some children showing signs from 12 to 18 months old. Some of the symptoms that usually present themselves in people with autism are: • Lack of eye contact • Not responsive when communicating • Delayed movement • Hyperactive behaviour or lack of paying attention • Tantrums • Lack of ability to understand the feelings of others • As there is no cure for autism, one of the key factors to help someone with autism grow and develop is through early intervention. Through this, individuals are able to live up to their potential and, from a young age, are taught how to communicate better as well as lead their daily lives. Since 2001, the Dubai Autism Center has been helping people with autism to live their best lives. Mohammed Al Emadi, Director-General at Dubai Autism Center said, “In 2001, an idea came to the surface that there are no services for children with autism and when we looked around, at that time nobody knew what autism was and mostly the diagnosis and the assessment was done outside the UAE. An idea came that services need to be given in Dubai, without the need for people to go out.” The idea was then implemented, and after being granted a decree by His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, former Ruler of Dubai, a small team started doing their research by interacting with the families of people with autism, to identify the services and facilities each individual requires. From there the Dubai Autism Center began, initially as a small villa catering to 16 people with autism and now catering to 150 people. Located at 20B Street in Garhoud, students that enroll at first undergo a stringent process where a free consultation is received. During the free consultation, the child is assessed, and parents are also spoken with, to enquire what the symptoms were that made them feel like their child has autism. Mohammed Al Emadi said, “We have a questionnaire that gives you the red flags
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