PUTRAJAYA: Parents in the rural areas are generally still unaware of autism and its symptoms leading to a failure in early detection of the disorder among their children.
Autism is a life long neural development disorder which can influence an autistic person’s communication, social interaction and behaviour.
The National Autism Society of Malaysia (Nasom) Setapak Garden branch coordinator, Zaleha Jalani said rural parents were still superstitious when their children were slow in learning to speak.
She said on observing such symptoms, parents should refer their children to the hospital for early intervention.
“We hope the promotion effort by the government and non-governmental organisations on the disorder and its symptoms in the rural areas will help parents handle these special children,” she said at an exhibition held in conjunction with the International Seminar on Autism 2014 here yesterday. — Bernama