Nadir Al-Anzi and Samar Mashkhouj Okaz/Saudi Gazette There are more than 200,000 autistic children in the Kingdom, according to the latest figures. There has been a steady increase in the number of children affected by this disorder with the annual increase ranging from 200 to 400. Even though the government spends millions of riyals to establish autism treatment and rehabilitation centers, they are still insufficient to meet the actual demand. With no way to treat their children, many parents have been forced to take their autistic children to neighboring countries, especially Jordan, in pursuit of their comprehensive rehabilitation. The Kingdom has only five comprehensive autism rehabilitation centers, in addition to some small centers that concentrate on a child's intellectual growth rather than the treatment of the disorder. Several parents of autistic children lamented the lack of adequate facilities for the treatment and rehabilitation of their children in the Kingdom. They noted that most government centers are either ill-equipped or understaffed. Private medical centers are often accused of being more concerned about earning money than providing quality services. Amman, the capital city of Jordan, hosts some of the world-class centers for the treatment and rehabilitation of autistic children. There are more than 2,000 Saudi boys and girls who undergo treatment at these centers. Some of these children are beneficiaries of a scholarship program and thereby their expenses are being met by the Saudi government. As far as others are concerned, their parents spend about SR80,000 annually for their treatment and rehabilitation. Awad Al-Diyabi, father of 12-year-old Badr who suffers from autistic disorders, said his son is responding positively to the treatment and rehabilitation programs. Al-Diyabi commended the top quality training programs being provided at the centers in Jordan. “The poor quality of services at autism centers in the Kingdom forced me to take my son to Amman,” he said. Faisal Al-Harb's son has been getting treatment at a center for autism after the boy was sent to Jordan under the Kingdom's scholarship program nearly five years ago. He called for extending more support to autistic children. Noor Jawda, who supervises 50 Saudi autistic children at a Jordanian center, said the response of these children to the treatment was about 80 percent. She said the center is conducting intensive training and treatment programs, including speech therapy for children. Iman Bishtawi, a trainer at the center, said her 11-year-old daughter, Jawhara, has improved tremendously and she is now able to speak. The cultural attaché section at the Saudi Embassy in Amman is also shouldering a big task of extending support for the treatment and rehabilitation of children with special needs, especially autistic children. The attaché is instrumental in hosting a total of 825 boys and girls at its internal and external divisions and these children are attending courses at 14 special education centers. Speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette, many Saudi experts called for establishing more rehabilitation centers for autistic children in the Kingdom. Dr. Talat Al-Wazna, a consultant physician of brain and nerve diseases and secretary-general of the Saudi Autistic Society, said there are insufficient numbers of comprehensive rehabilitation centers for autistic children in the Kingdom. “This forces many parents to take their children to neighboring countries and this is why more rehabilitation centers with qualified staff are needed. The staff shall be provided with training and orientation programs on how to deal with autistic children,” he said. Dr. Abdul Hameed Al-Habeeb, director general of mental and community health at the Ministry of Health, said there are no specialized hospitals for autistic children in the world, but there are special clinics attached to specialist hospitals dealing with children's behavioral and growth disorders. He said the ministry has plans to establish special autism centers. According to Al-Habeeb, there is a referral program at King Fahd Medical City to support clinics for treating autistic children. The ministry has established at least 18 clinics at the children's and maternity hospitals across the Kingdom. “We are fully aware of our handicaps and insufficiency in providing healthcare services to autistic children. Finding competent specialists in autism is a problem faced throughout the world,” he said. Princess Sameera Bint Abdullah, chairperson of the charity society for the families of autistic children, said there are no specialist centers for treatment and rehabilitation of autism in some regions of the Kingdom, and there are several autistic children on the waiting list at the existing centers. This forces many families to take their children with autism to specialist rehabilitation centers outside the Kingdom. She said her society has so far sent 47 children to Jordan, which is well known for its facilities for treatment and rehabilitation of autistic children. “When I visited such centers, I was very much surprised to see a huge number of Saudis who have gone there to secure treatment and rehabilitation for their autistic children. These people have left their job, businesses and native place to spend time with their autistic children while they undergo treatment,” Princess Sameera said, while adding that she stopped in Jordan three times to visit these centers. “I also paid a visit to the cultural attaché at the Saudi Embassy in Amman and gave officials some directions, including holding of monthly meetings with families, forming a special committee to supervise these centers and presenting performance results to the attaché,” she said.
