Autism care must extend beyond early diagnosis and childhood interventions, say experts
Autism care must extend beyond early diagnosis and childhood interventions to provide sustained support through adolescence, adulthood and old age, experts said at Autism Odyssey
Autism care must extend beyond early diagnosis and childhood interventions to provide sustained support through adolescence, adulthood and old age, experts said at Autism Odyssey 3.0, a two-day international conference on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) organised by the Child Development Centre at Rainbow Children’s Hospital in Hyderabad.
The conference was organised in collaboration with Marham, the Ali Yavar Jung Institute for the Hearing Handicapped, the Indian Academy of Pediatrics and organisations working in the field of autism. The central theme of the conference was that autism is a lifelong developmental condition rather than a childhood diagnosis.
Experts highlighted the need for integrated systems that support autistic individuals through education, employment, relationships, independent living and ageing, while keeping families at the centre of care. “We need robust systems and a roadmap to support autistic individuals. This requires multidisciplinary teams working across health, education, vocation, policymakers, NGOs and other stakeholders.
This conference is the result of such a collaboration, and such partnerships should continue to define autism care in the community,” said Dr. Pratima Giri, developmental paediatrician.
The BriefWire