HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)face a lack of qualified facilities and government support policies, whileparents lack sufficient knowledge about the disorder, experts said at aconference held in HCM City on August 29.

The conference, with the theme “Autism: a Matter of Family and Society,” wasorganised by the Vietnam Fatherland Front of HCM City underthe attendance of professionals, experts and parents.

Autism is a bio-neurological developmental disability that generally appearsbefore the age of three, according to the National Autism Association. Autisticchildren often have unusual responses to sensory inputs, and struggle withlanguage, speech and sensory skills.

Nguyen Thanh Tam, Director of the city’s Integrated Education Support Centrefor Children with Disabilities, said hospitals with pediatricdepartments, health centres and educational psychology facilitiescould test children for autism.

However, the test results may not agree because they depend on the type ofdiagnostic technology used at different facilities.

A lack of coordination among the testing facilities can affect the initialsupportive therapy for autistic children.

“Interaction is an indispensable activity in the interventionand supportive therapies for children with ASD,” he said.

Caring and creating equality in health care, as well as access tobasic social services such as education and social security, arethe best ways to approach autistic children and adults, according to Tam.

The issue concerns families and society, but it is also the responsibility of theentire community, and commitment and enthusiasm are required.

"A society that accepts and respects diversity will provide the best waysand better opportunities for children with ASD to integrate intosociety,” he said.

He said the education sector should create a friendly,safe, inclusive and equitable academic environment forautistic children.

Ngo Xuan Diep from the Psychology Department at the HCM CityUniversity of Social Sciences and Humanities, said that,according to the department’s recent surveys, there are more than 100 methodsof interventions and occupational therapies to fight autism in the US,while Vietnam has about 30.
Doctors and scientists have still not been able to identify theexact cause of autism and the best ways to deal with it.

Analysis shows that each method can solve only one problem in autism spectrumdisorders.

For caretakers and parents, “it is necessary to provide treatment focused onpsychological intervention related to the field of educationalpsychology, not only the medical field,” Diep said.

"More effective results occur if children diagnosed with ASD receive anintervention before they are four years old. The earlierthe child gets professional intervention, the better the outcomewill be,” he said.

HCM City has numerous service facilities and centres for autisticchildren, including about 10 legally recognised facilities.

However, many of the facilities face a lack of officials withreal expertise, and are not strictly controlled by authorised agencies.

The city should lead the country in developing a support policy for autisticchildren and their parents, conduct more research, and compile statisticsrelated to autism, Diep said.

He also proposed developing a model that would combine family andspecialised schools for children with ASD in HCM City.

Pham Hong Nhung of Binh Thanh district, who has an autistic child, said herchild faced problems accessing education and health care.

She hopes the Government will offer more training courses for parents and giverecommendations about the best schools and service facilities for theirchildren.

“Stigma and discrimination against autistic childrenput great pressure on both kids and parents,” she said.

She said the Government should help changethe community’s mindset about children who are autistic.-VNS/VNA