TEHRAN- University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences is going to open two autism centers in the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 21), announced the university’s vice chancellor for medical care and rehabilitation. 

Bijan Khorasani made the remarks on the occasion of World Autism Awareness Day on April 2, ISNA reported. 

The centers will employ teams of specialists consisting of the university’s top professors and experts coming from psychology, speech therapy and social service departments and they will provide the autistic patients and their families with specialized helpAccording to Khorasani, this year, the theme of World Autism Day is “Assistive Technologies, Active Participation”, and the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation is determined to put this idea into practice as it has many untapped potentials. 

The centers will employ teams of specialists consisting of the university’s top professors and experts coming from psychology, speech therapy and social service departments and they will provide the autistic patients and their families with specialized help, said Khorasani, adding that the university also aims to be the top research center for autism this year. 

He went on to say that the university will support the researchers and technicians who develop new ideas and technologies for empowering autistic patients and it has established the very first “startup trigger” in the country for rehabilitation. 

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of complex brain development disorders. This umbrella term covers conditions such as autism and Asperger syndrome. These disorders are characterized by difficulties in social interaction and communication and a restricted and repetitive repertoire of interests and activities. 

World Health Organization estimates that 1 in 160 children has an autism spectrum disorder worldwide.

In mid-January, Mehdi Shadnoosh, head of the transplantation and treatment of diseases department at the Ministry of Health, announced that currently, some 8,000 people have been diagnosed with autism disorder in the country.

SJ/MQ/MG