Dubai:
The Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) marked World Autism Awareness Day on April 2, 2015 with officials visiting its centres specialising in autism therapy and meeting close to 100 children from ages two to 14 years diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to get a better understanding of the work done.
DHCC has 90 specialists, including psychologists, speech pathologists, counsellors and occupational and physical therapists across 11 clinical centres.
The team comprising Dr Wajdi Al Daghma, chief operating officer and senior members at DHCC met with representatives from the centres. They addressed topics such as the increasing demand for multidisciplinary approaches, regulatory environment and the much-needed focus on specialisation to include areas such as art, drama and music.
A few centres shared the success stories of both residents and foreign patients, pointing out to the rise in the percentage of parents relocating from other GCC countries to Dubai to be able to continue therapy.
The team visited Stepping Stones Centre for Autistic Spectrum Disorders, Child Early Intervention Medical Centre, Doris Duan-Young Autism Centre, Kids in Motion Therapy Services, and ABLE UK (Advanced Behavioural Learning Environment).
Dr Al Daghma said, “We are proud to have marked the World Autism Awareness Day along with DHCC-based centres and see first-hand the progress made by these children. Dubai Healthcare City makes every effort to increase access to specialists to help improve the lives of children and their families. We applaud the work carried out by DHCC-based centres.”
