ISLAMABAD: The federal government was going to launch the country’s first-ever national programme for children who are suffering from autism and mental illness, Abdul Qadir Patel, the health minister, said on Saturday.

“The health ministry will help in building up centres for children suffering from autism and mental disorders in all four provinces, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan,” he said in a statement.

Moreover, the health ministry’s spokesperson said that it would also establish the first autism centre for mentally disordered children in Islamabad.

Patel said that a state-of-the-art centre would provide both treatment and education to autistic children. The legislation work would also be carried out by Parliament for the protection of such children.

The data would be collected from a nationwide survey of such children, he added. The minister said that the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef) was ready to cooperate with the health ministry in this regard.

What is Autism?

“Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain. People with ASD often have problems with social communication and interaction and restricted or repetitive behaviours or interests,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

For example, children with ASD avoid or do not keep eye contact. They tend to repeat words, and phrases over and over and have obsessive interests.

“The statistics from South Asia estimate that there may be 350,000 children with autism in Pakistan. Unfortunately, most of these children remain undiagnosed due to the lack of awareness and expertise in diagnosis,” the Autism Society of Pakistan (a non-governmental organization, which works for children with ASD and also includes advocacy, fundraising, training and research) said.