Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday approved setting up of state-of-the-art Advanced Autism and Research Care Centre at a cost of Rs 16 crore at Mohali. The Centre would cater to the patients suffering from autism — a serious developmental disorder that impairs the ability to communicate and interact.
The decision was taken by Badal while presiding over a meeting with a host of medical experts, doctors and senior officers of the state Health department.
It was informed in the meeting that the upcoming Centre would be set up in Sector 79 over an area of two acres of land, which have already been allotted by PUDA.
The Centre would house a special school, assisted living centre, diagnostic and intervention centre and skill development centre besides an administrative office and would be completed within year.
Taking part in the deliberations, Badal asked the Principal Secretary Health Vini Mahajan to get this Centre constructed from the Punjab Health System Corporation (PHSC) within stipulated time frame of one year.
The Centre would be managed and run by an autonomous society comprising Board of Directors.
Badal underscored the need to draw a time bound action plan to effectively tackle the incidence of autism in the state.
It was informed in the meeting that on an average, one person per 500-1000 was inflicted with autism in India whereas incidence of this disease was 100 per 1000 globally as per study.
Nearly 25,000-30,000 persons inflicted with such similar diseases across the state needed this type of Institute so that they could be cured properly by the trained doctors under one roof.
Badal also asked the Medical Education and Research secretary to create special faculty in all the Government Medical Colleges and Hospitals for the treatment of patients suffering from Autism.
Responding to another vital issue, Badal asked the health department to sensitize their disability medical boards at all district headquarters to issue disability certificate to the person suffering from autism, which were now facing acute hardship and passing through mental agony due to scant knowledge about it.
He also directed the health department to pro-actively take up the issue with education department for giving admission to the children suffering from autism in the normal schools, as this step would not only inculcate a sense of equality, belongingness and self-respect but also save them from the scourge of discrimination and inferiority complex.