Prayagraj: The Allahabad Child Development Centre (ACDC) has partnered with the Centre of Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences (CBCS) of Allahabad University to conduct a two-day masterclass and workshop on autism , which began on Saturday at CBCS. Noted child psychiatrist Dr Chhitij Srivastava and the paediatrician from ACDC Dr Alka Srivastava along with Prof Bhoomika R Kar, head of CBCS, put together a training programme for parents who have children with autism and professionals working in this field. The resource person for this workshop is Dr RS Bagga, a renowned consultant occupational therapist from "Therapy for Ability," a centre for Autism in New Delhi.
Around 70 people, including parents, psychologists, speech therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and special educators, are attending this workshop. It focuses on hands-on training in proven therapeutic skills for autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders . "Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder with a gradually increasing prevalence in the last two decades.
It currently affects around 1% of the population, and more recent studies have estimated an even higher prevalence," said Prof Kar. Children affected by autism have difficulties in social communication and interaction, along with a pattern of repetitive behaviour and interests, she added. A significant percentage of these children also have sensory issues, which may manifest as both hyper and hypo reactivity to routine sensory stimuli.
On one e.