Special school: Need for more awareness about autism
Lautoka School for Special Education marks World Autism Awareness Day.
We need a lot of awareness on autism in our communities, says Lautoka School for Special Education head teacher, Kailash Pillay. Speaking during the World Autism Awareness Day celebration at the school on Thursday, Mr Pillay said: We need a lot of awareness in our communities with regard to autism because we
need to celebrate April 2 for the achievements and accomplishments for people who have autism.
“Breaking the old habits with persons with autism requires equality on access to decent work and creating an enabling environment along with reasonable accommodations for them in the society.” World Autism Awareness Day is an internationally recognised day on April 2 every year, encouraging Member States of the United Nations to take measures to raise awareness about people with autistic spectrum disorders including autism and Asperger syndrome throughout the world.
Mr Pillay said Fijians have continued to work together to recover from the global COVID-19 pandemic, but we must not forget about inclusivity.
“And we should always recognise people, including those with disabilities. Though the crisis has created new obstacles and challenges, efforts to reignite the global economy offer an opportunity to reimagine the workplace to make diversity, inclusion and equality a reality.
“We want to work together with persons living with disabilities including the representative organisations to find innovative solutions to recover better in society for autistic kids.”
The Lautoka School for Special Education caters for 17 students with autism.