Sana Abdul Salam

Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — Children with conditions such as autism, cerebral palsy and epilepsy often need special attention, and an education system that can cater to their needs.



However, due to the high costs of keeping up with this treatment, parents of many of these children face difficulties in providing their children with the appropriate educational environment.



To combat the issue of finances in providing special needs children with the best possible opportunities, the Braaem Independent Living (BIL) Centre here hosted a dinner to raise funds for underprivileged special needs children on Thursday evening.



Since more than half of the children admitted in the center are from Pakistani expatriate families, the event aimed to gain the attention of prominent members of the community to collect funds.



Faiza Abdulaziz, founder and director of Braeem Independent Living, urged prominent members of the Pakistani expatriate community here to help the school cater to the needs of underprivileged children through donations to the school.



“We could then ensure that we can address the needs of as many special needs children as possible, irrespective of their family’s financial status,” said Abdulaziz.



Aftab Ahmed Khoker, Consul General of Pakistan and special guest at the event, said: “We need to pay special attention to these special children.

“Today is not only to raise awareness, but to take action toward helping these children.



“This effort is very close and personal to my heart, because whenever I see such children, of any nationality, I feel like we need to contribute something.



“How can we do that: individually and collectively and by giving our time and resources.”



Khokher stated that he has been in touch with several prominent businessmen from the Pakistani community, and is confident that their efforts will come to fruitation.



After the showing of an introductory video on BIL, the students, accompanied by their caretakers, of the center went on stage to sing to different tunes.



Bethany L. Condo, an American Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), explained that autism spectrum disorder is a neuro-developmental group of disorder that is characterized by three core deficits.



These include the children having impairments in (verbal and non-verbal) communication, and exhibited strange behavior patterns.



Autistic children are also known to have issues with social skills, where they have trouble making friends, or are not aware of appropriate times to talk or stay silent.



She said: “If we start the treatment very young (at an early age), kids can get a lot of progress, they can really live healthy lives and be very independent lives as soon as they get evidence-based treatment.”



The event concluded with remarks from parents of the center students.