Centre for autistic kids soon

PUTRAJAYA: A special centre to help autistic children and their families will be set up by 2015 under the Permata Kurnia programme for autistic children.

Permata adviser Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor said the aim of the RM28mil facility was to provide early intervention and training to autistic kids in the hope that they would eventually become part of mainstream society.

“We need this programme because we do not have special schools for children with autism. To become a developed nation, we should have such centres that are systematic and scientific and with the latest equipment,” she said at the soft launch of the programme here.

The centre, which will focus on children from lower income groups, will be built on a 2.6 acre plot of land along Jalan Sentul in Kuala Lumpur.

Construction of the centre is scheduled to start in August this year and should be completed by February 2015.
The Permata Kurnia centre is expected to take in between 100 and 150 children, with the aim of setting an initial ratio of one teacher for every three students.

Rosmah, who is the wife of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, said the programme would also look at setting up learning centres for autistic children at district levels.

(Source: The Star Online)