Autistic children need extra care, attention

Extra care and special attention are needed to help autistic children overcome their mental barriers, said Prof Shaheen Akhter, a pediatric neurologist at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU).

Autism is a genetic disorder with a unique state of mind, not any disease. The exact reason behind the disorder still remains a debatable issue in medical science while environmental pollution with lead and pesticide is believed to expedite the severity of autism, she said at a socialisation gathering of around 30 autistic children and their parents at Pizza Hut in the capital yesterday.

"Therefore, the parents should not feel embarrassed with their autistic child nor should they quarrel over whose fault it is for a child being autistic," added Prof Shaheen, also the project director of the Institute of Pediatric Nero-disorder and Autism of BSMMU.

Mathematician Isaac Newton and father of the relativity theory Albert Einstein both had autism. Autistic children therefore should not be treated as worthless persons because they are good at some mental faculty or other, she mentioned.

Pizza Hut hosted the gathering to help break the barrier of parental reluctance and embarrassment to socialise their children, marking the eighth World Autism Awareness Day, observed globally on April 2.

Nishat Majumder, the first Bangladeshi woman to conquer Mount Everest, former captain of Bangladesh national cricket team Khaled Masud Pilot and television presenter Sharmin Lucky were present to encourage the children.