Sunday Times 2
TV programme on children and autism
View(s):The majority of Sri Lankans are unaware of the extent of prevalence of Autism and the need for awareness and education is only now being recognised.
In January this year Johnson’s Baby started a television programme devoted to mothers with young children called ‘First Lessons in Love’ (Aaddaraye Palamu Paadama) hosted by Yehali Sangakkara, wife of national cricketer Kumar Sangakkara. Johnson’s Baby dedicated two episodes of the programme to raising awareness on Autism and the growing number of children diagnosed with Autism in Sri Lanka as well as to highlight the lack of knowledge possessed by rural communities on the condition.
Yehali Sangakkara
Johnson’s Baby in association with the Sri Lanka Association of Child Development (SLACD) also recently initiated the Autism Speaks ‘Light it up Blue’ campaign for the first time in Sri Lanka to mark World Autism Day. First Lady Siranthi Rajapakse was the Chief Guest at the event.
President of the Sri Lankan Association of Child Development (SLACD) Prof. Hemamali Perera said, “The most common age of Autism presentation is between one and a half to two and a half years of age and the most common symptom is delay in speech. Once developed, the disease may exist for the rest of the child’s life. This is a treatable disease when diagnosed early. The disease cannot be diagnosed easily. Sometimes doctors ignore symptoms thinking that they will disappear with the time but they become worse.”
Further, the SLACD is dedicated to funding research, early detection, early prevention, treatment and cure as well as increasing awareness of autism and advocating for the needs of children with autism.
“Our main goal is to sensitise people about autism; however, I believe that everything begins at the core. It is estimated that 4,000 children are admitted to schools annually, diagnosed or not diagnosed. Hence, we are currently facilitating a research and training programme pilot project which is being carried out for Medical Officers of Health (MOHs), midwives and pre-school teachers in six MOH areas in the Gampaha district. We are training this particular focus group to detect and send in children with social needs for early screening and intervention,” she said.