‘Everyone has a role to play to help autistic kids’

KUCHING: It is vital that autistic children have access to and receive therapy which will help them to live better lives and everyone must do their part to help.

Datin Patinggi Datuk Amar Jamilah Anu told reporters this during a press conference after launching the ‘Sponsor-A-Child’ programme at the Kuching Autistic Association (KAA) centre at Taman Desa Wira, Batu Kawah here yesterday.

The programme aims to help autistic children and families in underprivileged circumstances to have access to therapy.

Jamilah, who is the Chief Minister’s wife, said that she has supported the programme since 2014 after she learnt from KAA that many parents with autistic children did not have enough funds to send their children for therapy at the association’s education centre as they were poor.

“It is important for autistic children to receive therapy to have a normal and better life – there is always hope for them,” she said.

“I told the association to do something and to try to seek funding and donations for this programme.”

During the same visit, she also officially declared open the centre’s Sensory Room which is used to provide therapy to autistic children.

She said that the association had to apply for tax exemption status so that she could help to source for funds from corporate sponsors.

Jamilah, who is also Association of Wives of Ministers and Assistant Ministers of Sarawak (Sabati) president, called on donors to come forward to support the programme as it is for a good cause.

She noted that for autistic children from poor families who could not afford to go to a normal school, even the thought of going to a special school such as the education centre at KAA seemed impossible.

Jamilah said that these children required special treatment and therapy which the centre’s trained teachers could provide.

“As the association is a voluntary organisation, they need support from everybody,” she said, adding she would help to source for funds to send the centre’s teachers for further training.

Jamilah also revealed that Sabati members had pooled their resources together to make a donation towards the Sensory Room to show their support for the programme.

Sabati plans to organise a seminar for the centre’s staff and parents of autistic children as well as to bring in an expert from Kuala Lumpur to share on how to care for autistic children.

“This is in Sabati’s pipeline to help the association and we will do it in Kuching first before we go to other divisions. These are the little things we can do to help,” she said.

Earlier, she handed over a mock cheque for RM15,000 to KAA on behalf of Yayasan Pembangunan Iktisad Islam Malaysia. She also witnessed the handing over of a second mock cheque from Affin Hwang Capital Asset Management to KAA for RM10,000.

Meanwhile, KAA president Datuk Dr Yao Sik Chi revealed that the centre charges RM200 per child per month for children undergoing two-hour sessions per day and RM 450 per child per month for four-hour daily sessions.

He said the association also helps to sponsor children who cannot afford the fee and that the actual cost is RM800 per child per month.

“There are many families who cannot afford even RM200 and that is why we need funds to help these autistic children,” he explained, adding that the programme currently has RM45,000 in hand, not including the donations received yesterday.

Among those present at the function were Datin Amar Doreen Lee Mei Hua who is the wife of Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, event organising chairperson Connie Yeo, and ‘Sponsor-A-Child’ programme chairperson Sheila Kho.