Rotary holds autism awareness workshop

VASHI: The Rotaract Club of New Bombay, along with the Rotary Club of Navi Mumbai, presented an autism awareness workshop on April 13. The workshop, titled Aashayein, was held from 9am to 2pm at the Rotary Club Service Center, Vashi, as part of autism awareness month.

The workshop was conducted by Sunshine School and Autism Support Navi Mumbai and was intended for teachers and parents of children in pre-primary and playgroup sections.

“Autism is a common neurological disorder. The aim of this workshop was to teach parents and teachers about how to recognise the symptoms in children and how to deal with them,” said Rtr Srijeeta Ghosh, president, Rotaract Club of New Bombay.

Around 70 teachers from the pre-primary section of various schools and playgroups around Navi Mumbai and Chembur attended the event.

Dr Rupa Srinivasan, developmental paediatrician, Umeed Child Developmental Centre and Parul Kumtha, founding member, Forum for Autism, were the main speakers. Dr Srinivasan highlighted the fact that one of every 110 children in the world has autism. “A little patience goes a long way in helping autistic children,” he said.

An round of question and answers was also held at the end of the session. Paramita Majumdar, principal, Sunshine School of Autism, said, “There is a need to include autistic children in our education system. We hope to have generated greater awareness regarding autism through this workshop.”