MADINAH — Parents of autistic children bemoan the lack of specialists to correctly diagnose their children and government-run facilities to care for them. They say they are forced to enroll autistic children at private centers that burden them financially. A mother said she enrolled her child in a private center for a year and a half, without him showing any improvement. On the contrary, he became more fidgety, and there were signs of bruises on his body. Some mothers said that they had to take their children to centers in Riyadh, Jeddah and Jordan. This is an extremely costly option for people with limited income. Autistic children who cannot find the proper care remain at home, isolated from other children, thus increasing their misery further. There are more than 100,000 autistic children in the Kingdom. Social specialist Sahar Jaber said autism has become an important social problem. It has medical, psychological, educational and social implications. She confirmed that autistic children need continuous and special care. Such medical care is expensive, and not all families can afford it. She believes that specialized government centers should be established in different areas of the Kingdom. Dr. Uhood Al-Rehaili, professor of psychological health at Taibah University in Madinah, said autistic children have a complicated personality. Government bodies should provide well-equipped specialized centers and raise awareness of families and society on ways to deal with autistic children. The supervisor of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) in Madinah, Sharaf Al-Qarafi, said the Saudi law provides for the right of the handicapped to care and rehabilitation. It is regrettable, she added, that large numbers of these children are isolated in their houses. Their responsibility should be shared between all concerned government bodies. She said the society's Madinah office has submitted a detailed report about the demands of mothers to NSHR President Mefleh Al-Qahtani to communicate them to the concerned authorities.
