Dubai
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one in every 160 children suffer from autism and the numbers are steadily increasing by the day.
On April 23, several youth members of Green Hope, a student-run organisation, took active part in the Walk for Autism 2016 event held at Zabeel Park, Dubai. April is marked around the world, as the International Autism Awareness month.
The event was organised by the Child Early Intervention Centre in Dubai and sought to engage all sections of civil society in spreading awareness about autism. Their aim was also to help integrate individuals challenged by this affliction into the mainstream.
Green Hope members set up a booth at the event and used music and dance to spread awareness and engage with the audience, many of whom had autism. We performed several songs, which had the audience swaying to the beat. Thereafter, our members choreographed a flash mob along with a dance recital, which brought smiles of appreciation from many. We also encouraged visitors to paint their messages on t-shirts at our booth at the venue.
As young people, we will one day form the future generation, and so, we hope and work towards achieving all aspects of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, especially goal three, which deals with ‘good health and well-being’. The UN aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages, by the year 2030.
It is, therefore, of utmost importance that the youth make the effort to spread awareness, and help individuals suffering from disorders such as autism, to smoothly transition into the mainstream, so that they, too, can lead a life of dignity.
We used music and dance as a medium of communication to engage these differently-abled people during the event, and their encouraging response was hugely motivating for us.
A sustainable future will become a reality only if every section of civil society can join hands and work together.
— The reader is the founder president of Green Hope UAE.
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FACTBOX:
In a Gulf News report dated July 2014, statistics from the UAE Ministry of Social Affairs indicated that more than 800 children are enrolled at special centres. However, studies are underway to determine exactly how many cases of autism exist in the country.
According to US-based Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, about one percent of the world population has autism spectrum disorder. It is about 4.5 times more common among boys than among girls. A study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2014, found that it costs more than $8,600 (Dh31,587) extra per year to educate a student with autism.
