AUTISM INITIATIVES BY UMT
The purpose of this initiative was to spread awareness and provide services for the community who wants to learn about autism and their services and are actually in the world of Autism. The people who were being the part of this initiative were Parents, professionals and others who have been working in the field of Autism.
Autism Initiaves by UMT was an umbrella under which several works have been done which included “Screening Camp for Autism”, A seminar on: “Successful Community Based Services for All”, A seminar on: Autism & Puberty: A less explored transition. All these initiatives were arranged by Organizer Dr Amna Arif and the MPHIL Scholars of Special Education Batch 2023.
Screening Camp for Autism:
The camp was organized by Dr Amna Arif and M.Phil. Special Education Scholars, Department of education UMT. It was arranged in the premises of UMT on 16th May, 2024. in the collaboration with children hospital and Trusted Support Therapeutic Clinic. There was an initial history desk, screening desk which included 2 step screening using 2 different tools and a panel for further discussion. The panel included occupational therapist, speech therapist, behavior therapist and psychologist. Services provided in the camp were:
- Screening for suspected cases of Autism
- Medical consultation
- Behavioral consultation
- Occupational therapy consultation
- Speech and language consultation
- Developmental milestones checklist for parents to monitor their children’s developmental progress,
The camp was a successful event. Screening of almost 30 children was done and almost 35 parents opt for discussion and consultation.
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Successful Community Based Services for All:
A seminar on successful community-based services for all was arranged in UMT on 23rd May, 2024. This seminar was organized by Dr. Amna Arif and MPhil special education scholars of UMT. The purpose of this seminar was to make these services easily accessible to everyone. The services included of Dentist, nutrition, sensory room, entertainment and library. All the service providers were specially catering the need of children with different needs. The service provider was from Smile on Dental clinic, Fun CO manager, CEO of Sensory, Children Complex Library Manager, Nutritionist from Rainbow health clinic. Almost 30 people were present in te audience which included Parents, students and Professionals.
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Autism & Puberty: A Less Explored transition:
Seminar on: “Autism & Puberty: A less Explored Transition was organized in collaboration with UCHS and the Children’s hospital Lahore. It was arranged in Sajid Maqbool Auditorium of Children Hospital on 4th June, 2024. The purpose of this Seminar was to spread the awareness about the challenges in puberty faced by autistic children and how to manage the challenges and changes. The Guest speakers were Prof Dr Shazia Maqbool (Ex. H.O.D Developmental & Behavioral Department UCHS and Childrens Hospital, Lahore), Dr Amna Arif (Associate Prof. UMT psychologist & special educationist. Consultant for Autism), Syeda Wajeeha Zahra (Principal Clinical Psychologist at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Lahore). This was a successful event with the audience of around 80 people which includes Students, Professionals and parents.