Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — Under the patronage of Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, emir of Makkah and adviser to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the Kingdom›s first autism center will be re-launched on Wednesday in Al-Shatei district of Jeddah as an integrated facility for rehabilitating children suffering from the condition.

Prince Saud Bin Jalawi, adviser to the emir of Makkah, and other dignitaries expected to attend the function.

Organized by Al-Faisaliya Women Welfare Society, the ceremony coincides with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the first autism center in Jeddah in 1993 as the first of its kind center in the Kingdom for the rehabilitation of disabled people.

Autism is a neurological and developmental disorder that begins early in childhood and lasts throughout a person›s life. It affects how a person acts and interacts with others, communicates, and learns. It includes what used to be known as Asperger syndrome and pervasive developmental disorders. Because of a range of symptoms, the condition is now called autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

The Jeddah Autism Center, with several branches in the city now, has been the best center of its kind in the Arab world established with a sound scientific and educational base and has been run in collaboration with international expertise, making the Kingdom the first country in the region to address this debilitating disorder.

The center highlights the disorder of autism, its impact and how to deal with cases, families and society. The success of this experiment made several bodies inside the Kingdom contact the center to benefit from its expertise and adopt the educational program in opening autism centers in Riyadh, Dhahran and Jubail.

Through the event, Al-Faisalya Women Welfare Society aims to strengthen community partnerships with the entities and to honor supporters of the center.

This cooperation is part of the philanthropy to serve the community through the center for the rehabilitation and education of children with autism.