Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

World Autism Awareness Day is internationally marked on April 2 to highlight the need to improve the lives of children and adults suffering from the disorder.

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that manifests itself during the first three years of life. The high rate of autism around the world tremendously affects children and their families, communities and societies.

According to autismspeaks.org, autism now affects 1 in 88 children in the world.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, addressing the world community, stated that the current session of the United Nations General Assembly has adopted a new resolution on this issue, demonstrating a commitment to help the affected individuals and families.

"The resolution encourages member states and others to strengthen research and expand their delivery of health, education, employment and other essential services. The Executive Board of the World Health Assembly will also take up the subject of autism spectrum disorders at its forthcoming session in May," Ban Ki-moon's message released by the UN says.

According to him, current research indicates that early interventions can help persons with autistic conditions to achieve significant gains in their abilities. Now is the time to work for a more inclusive society, highlight the talents of the affected people and ensure opportunities for them to realize their potential.

The message reads that the General Assembly will hold a high-level meeting on September 23 to address the conditions of more than one billion persons with disabilities, including those with autism disorders.

"I hope leaders will seize this opportunity to make a meaningful difference that will help these individuals and our human family as a whole," Ban Ki-moon said.

Autism in Azerbaijan

Autism is not the first-string, but one of the growing problems in Azerbaijan. According to the Azerbaijani center for assistance to autism-affected people, the number of children suffering from autism is increasing in Azerbaijan.

According to official data, the number of children suffering from autism equals 4,000 in Azerbaijan, the center said in February.

The Center's head Chichek Mammadli believes that Azerbaijani society is not sufficiently aware of the disease. According to Mammadli, the number of autism-affected children is much higher as no records of the disease are kept in the regions of the country.

However, Mammadli said, unlike in previous years, parents have now begun bringing their children suffering from this disorder to psychologists and speech therapists more often.

Doctors and scientists are not clear on the autism's causes still. One of the reasons is that autism receives insufficient research funding. However, some autism rights defending organizations view autism as a way of life rather than as a disease.

This disease cannot be treated only with medicine, as profound psychological rehabilitation and systematic efforts are needed.

The Autism Centre is the only centre devoted solely to helping children with autism and their families in Azerbaijan. Autism is increasingly recognised as a disability in Azerbaijan, and in 2012, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation joined with UNICEF and the Autism Centre to make Baku part of the global "Light it Up Blue" campaign to raise awareness of the challenges faced by children and adults with autism.