In conjunction with International Awareness Month on Autism, NGOs call for discrimination against autism to stop
KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 — With the number of diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Malaysia rising from the previous year, civil societies have called for the end of discrimination against those afflicted with neurological and developmental disorders.
In conjunction with International Autism Awareness Month, Federation of Reproductive Health Associations Malaysia (FRHAM) chairman Dr Kamal Kenny said children with autism are likely to be bullied and stigmatised because of their behavioural patterns.
“Here teachers play an important role in educating other children about acceptance and behaving in a non-discriminatory way towards children living with autism.
“Autism should be looked at holistically to ensure access, support, and guidance is received by all people living with autism,” he said in a FRHAM statement issued on a roundtable organised recently to raise awareness on autism.
The latest annual figure from the Health Ministry for 2021 showed a total of 589 children aged 18 and below being diagnosed with ASD, which is an increase of 5 per cent from 562 children in 2020.
Kamal also said children living with autism are more vulnerable to sexual assault perpetrated by those who are aware of their condition, noting that programmes on safe touch must be instituted in schools to allow a safe place for children with ASD to get a proper education.
Separately, Malaysian Council of Child Welfare (MKKM) president Datuk Dr Raj Karim said it was crucial to know about autism since it is a multifactorial problem that affects every child differently.
“It is important for the healthcare system or caregivers to acknowledge every autistic individual is affected differently because it is a spectrum, which is why they need to provide a customised treatment accordingly,” he said.
Their views were echoed by two other guests at the roundtable, Mahsa International School and Suresh Unnikrishnan of Autism Advocate.
