During an awareness campaign launched by the Dubai Autism Center, which will continue until the end of April

Free diagnosis in Dubai for children with suspected autism

The center stressed the need for initiatives to facilitate the access of diagnostic services to the target population.

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The Dubai Autism Center announced that it will provide free counseling sessions for children suspected of having autism by reservation during the month of April only, during the period of its 15th Autism Awareness Campaign, which was launched by the center yesterday, coinciding with the World Autism Day, which falls on the second of April of each year. .

The center stressed that "despite the great awareness of many parents of autistic children, there is still a lack of interest in seeking early diagnosis, which confirms the need for initiatives that contribute to facilitating the arrival of diagnostic and care services to the target."

The center warned against diagnosing autism spectrum disorder based on symptoms recognized by some doctors and non-specialized caregivers, indicating the presence of misconceptions and inaccurate concepts prevalent in society, as “some people often confuse autism spectrum disorder with learning disabilities disorder. ».

An accurate diagnosis takes a few sessions that require the participation of a multidisciplinary team, including a psychologist, a pediatrician, a behavioral analysis specialist, a speech specialist, a functional specialist, in addition to an educational specialist.

On the goals of the Dubai Autism Center campaign, Mohammed Al-Emadi, a member of its board of directors and director general, said: “The center launched the campaign, based on the Dubai strategy to empower people of determination, contain them, and integrate them into society as an integral part of it, to shed light on the extent of the impact of a positive outlook on affected individuals. With autism, and the need for society to accept and understand the developmental characteristics of autism spectrum disorder, which usually affect people with autism in three main areas, namely speech and communication difficulties, social interaction difficulties, and behavior problems.

On the other hand, the mother of an autistic child said that her son underwent a diagnosis at the Zayed Higher Organization for People of Determination in Abu Dhabi, and the result showed that he had autism spectrum disorder, confirming that she had presented the child to more than one specialist doctor, and the diagnoses were contradictory. Accredited diagnostic bodies, provided that their reports are documented at the state level.

The mother of another child stated that the wrong diagnosis of her autistic son resulted in the wrong treatment and an increase in the cost of treatment.

The father of a child with autism stressed the need for early diagnosis of children in government centers to determine the condition of each child, so that it can be dealt with early, pointing out that the most prominent challenges facing the family of an autistic child is that health insurance does not include the treatment listed under the name Diagnosis Autism, and does not include medical advice, nor drugs.

The center cautions against diagnosing autism spectrum disorder based on common symptoms.

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