More than 3600 cases diagnosed with autism in Kurdistan Region
“With our efforts at home also the trainings by the center, we could improve from worse to less bad condition” Kamal, Hezha’s father, told Kurdistan 24 “previously, we could not leave him unsupervised for a minute, he would break everything”
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Children with autism have been provided trainings (individually and in groups). The trainings include sensory and natural therapy sessions. The presence of these centers provides psychological and social support to autistic children’s families too.
Autism is not a medical condition with treatments or a cure, having autism means the brain process things and surrounding with a different way from the common way that people handle it on a daily routine based -for example.
It's something one is born with, the signs perhaps can be noticed when someone is very young, or unnoticed until getting older. This condition has its own difficulties for the patient and their families.
Autism is different from one to another, for some, it could be hard to communicate and integrate with the community, or finding it hard to understand how people think and feel.
Bright light, busy area and loud noises might be very uncomfortable for some. Perhaps, feeling anxious and nerve-wracking in unfamiliar circumstances and social activities for some others. Probably, it takes longer to understand and process information.
Autism has different names: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the medical name, Asperger's (or Asperger syndrome) to describe autistic people with average or above average intelligence.
Hezha Kamal Jabari, 15, lives with autism, he is diagnosed with the most severe type of autism.
“With our efforts at home also the trainings by the center, we could improve from worse to less bad condition” Kamal, Hezha’s father, told Kurdistan 24 “previously, we could not leave him unsupervised for a minute, he would break everything”
“The government, recently, made several decisions that are very good for us. One of them decisions is if a child, with autism, wants to travel abroad, the procedure goes through VIP” Kamal Jabari added.
According to Jabari’s statement to Kurdistan 24, autistic children receive treatments in the hospitals for free, regardless to the cost, as well as their condition is taken into consideration in the public places.
Sayran Dzayi, The Manger of the Autism Center in Erbil said “annually, between 7 to 10 pupils go to the common schools and mix with the normal children. They are being trained, and taught math, English and Kurdish subjects, as well as given one-to-one sessions according to the plan and the daily timetables”
The situation of autistic children is a big work for their families, thus the Kurdistan Region Government tried to help them, by providing their autistic children free treatment and care in the hospitals.
%9 of cases with the autism receive a monthly allowance of 150.000 Iraqi dinars (per an autistic child)
According to the sources, there are more than 3600 autistic children registered in Kurdistan Region, which is considered as a large number per households.
There are seven autism centers in Erbil, Sulaimani, Duhok, Halabja, Hajiawa, Koya and Bazian.