NHRC Holds Dialogue On Challenges Facing Children With ASD And CP

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) organised an interactive dialogue on the particularity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and cerebral palsy (CP), with the participation of the Supreme Judicial Council and the ministries of interior, education and higher education, social development and family, and public health, along with the Public Prosecution and a number of parents.
At the outset of his speech, Director of the Legal Affairs Department at NHRC, Nasser Marzouk Sultan al-Marri expressed gratitude to the parents of children with ASD and CP for their deep concern for their children's surroundings and future, in addition to those parents' continuous efforts to provide the best means and supportive approaches to meet their children's needs, adding that those parents embody true unconditional love and steadfast belief in their children's abilities, despite challenges.
Al-Marri expressed hope that this inaugural dialogue would serve as an effective platform to shed light on the core challenges facing children with ASD and CP, discussing optimal ways to address them, and coming up with clear recommendations that would contribute to removing the obstacles facing this group.
He also hoped that the interactive dialogue's recommendations receive serious follow-up and prompt response from concerned authorities.
For his part, head of the legislation and legal studies and research department at NHRC Abdulrahman al-Hashemi said that this meeting aims to address ASD and CP and to highlight the current challenges facing this group, emphasising the importance of proposing solutions based on expertise, knowledge, and best practices in order to reach constructive visions that pave the way for broader prospects in addressing these vital issues.
Al-Hashemi indicated that this interactive dialogue is part of NHRC's 2024-2030 Strategic Plan and reflects its conviction in the importance of community partnership based on human rights' principles and values, as well as NHRC's responsibility to respond to complaints and petitions it receives, ensuring co-ordination and integration with the relevant humanitarian and social authorities.
Participants in the interactive dialogue recommended addressing the training and rehabilitation gap that exists for persons with disabilities over the age of 21 by establishing specialised centres for that purpose, which would offer comprehensive programmes according to the latest international standards, with those programmes including occupational and physical therapy in addition to vocational training.
Until such proposed government centres are established, participants called for a transitional period that would see persons with disabilities who are over the age of 21 receive temporary programmes at the Shafallah Center for Persons with Disabilities that include training as well as occupational and physical therapies.
Moreover, participants also suggested that a partnership is created between Shafallah Center and private centres to provide this segment of society with joint training and rehabilitation services during this period.
They further suggested that specialists from private centres make regular visits to Shafallah Center for training and the exchange of expertise and advocated the provision of educational vouchers to cover the cost of training and rehabilitation at private centres for cases that require these services, thus, ensuring that persons with disabilities receive needed support regardless of their families' financial capabilities.
The participants in the interactive dialogue also called for creating a guide on ASD and a hotline to receive complaints and provide psychological support to individuals and their families.
They highlighted the importance of encouraging partnerships with the private sector to develop training and rehabilitation programmes tailored to the individual needs of this group in line with labour market demands.
Participants also recommended launching awareness campaigns to emphasise the importance of continuous rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities and to showcase success stories that demonstrate how such programmes can transform lives.

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