Trust for Autistic children

These kids cannot watch and learn how to dress up, eat or use a toilet. They fail to make eye contact as they speak and have single-track thought process.

But many of them have ‘hidden’ talents like paintings and music. “When you see a man without a hand, you know he is disabled and you go to help him. But you will not understand someone like my boy and he will not be helped,” said 11 year old Mughdo’s father Khandaker Enamul Basir. Even few days back the couple was worried what would happen to Mughdo when they are dead and gone. But now they are hopeful. To the respite of parents of hundreds of autistic children like Mughdo, the Parliament has passed a landmark legislation to form a trust that would look after autistic children when no one is there to help them. The law asked the government to set up the trust as soon as possible for the protection of the children with neuro-development disorders like autism, down syndrome, intellectual disability, and cerebral palsy. The government will inject Tk 1 billion as a start-up fund for the proposed trust. The Prime Minister, possibly to be the President of its board, will head the advisory team. The board will bring together all 14 relevant ministries in its advisory team including the ministry of labour and employment that will look for jobs for these children. The 27 members of the board will be drawn from all walks of life but a government appointed expert on neuro-development disorder will be its chairperson. At least four parents of such disadvantaged children will also be the part of the board. The government will also nominate two persons from philanthropic and industrial entities for the board with a view to generate funds. “They (the trust board) will work for improving their living conditions and future rehabilitation,” Sajida Rahman Danny, President of a forum, the Parents Forum for Differently Able, said. “They will never be able to live independently,” Danny said, adding that Trust will try to bring out the best in their talents. Campaign on autism, new in Bangladesh, started with Saima Hossain Putul, a US-licensed school psychologist, organising a global meet in Dhaka in July 2011. Putul is Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's daughter. Sonia Gandhi, president of India's ruling Congress party took part in the event among other global leaders that brought the issue to the forefront. Parents, who used to keep their kids suffering autism at home, came out and formed groups. Due to Bangladesh’s initiative, United Nations accepted a resolution on autism and World Health Organisation’s Executive Board ‘unanimously’ accepted an autism resolution Bangladesh placed in Geneva in May this year. But there is no national survey on autism. Estimates suggest every 8 in 1000 children are autistic in Bangladesh. It is 1 in 88 children in US. Danny, president of the Parents Forum that was actively engaged with the drafting of the law said the board would conduct a survey first to find out the number of children with this disorder. “The vision is when I am not here in the world to help him, the trust will be there,” the mother of a 20-year old child with autism said. She said a child with autism cannot handle properties or any assets, even if parents keep it for them. “Now the trust will look after them. They (parents) will be able to hand over the assets to the trust for their kids”. The board will sit in a meeting at least one in four months. The Parents Forum says the law recognises the problem of the autistic kids and wants it to be implemented. “People now understand they have a kind of talent. They are special,” President Danny said.