ATH sets up first Autism Recourse Centre

ABBOTTABAD: The Department of Psychiatry, Ayub Teaching Hospital, has started a first-ever public sector diagnostic clinic in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to build a better society and identify neuro-developmental issues at an early stage.

This is the first Autism Recourse Centre in any public sector hospital in KP. Dean Ayub Medical Teaching Institution Dr Umar Farooq along with Medical Director Dr Ahsan Aurangzeb and Hospital Director Dr Nadeem Akhtar inaugurated the centre on the occasion of World Mental Health Day. Head of Psychiatry Department Dr Aftab Alam Khan stated that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by marked deficits in social communication (failure to initiate or respond to social interactions), deficits in nonverbal communication (e.g. poor eye contact), deficits in speech, developing relationships along with restrictive or repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests or activities.

The hospital’s Media Manager Amber Javed said the Autism Diagnostic Centre would offer services on every first and third Saturday of the month, while the Intervention Centre would offer the services from every Monday to Friday.

The centre will be run by trained clinical psychologists with expertise in testing and assessment. The Psychiatry Department has experienced psychiatrist, a clinical psychologist and speech therapist. The Psychiatry Department also holds the credit of establishing the first-ever Student Counselling Centre in Ayub Medical College Abbottabad, she added. Clinical psychologists Maimoona Rashid, Aisha Saleem and speech therapist Dr Zubia Mushtaq will run the resource centre under the supervision of Dr Aftab Alam Khan. Dr Zubia Mushtaq said that it requires a minimum of 3 to 4 sessions to carry out a complete assessment for autism, ADHD and intellectual ability comprising initial session of informal assessment with 2 or 3 formal assessment sessions depending upon the condition of the client. In 2018, the CDC determined that approximately 1 in 59 children are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Boys are four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than girls. Most children were still being diagnosed after age 4; though autism can be reliably diagnosed as early as age 2. Autism affects all ethnic and socioeconomic groups. There is no medical detection for autism. Early intervention offers the best opportunity to support healthy development and deliver benefits across the lifespan.