(MENAFN- The Peninsula) With an aim to increase the community's awareness about the employability of people with autism, the Department of Psychological Sciences in Qatar University College Education (QU-CED) hosted a seminar recently.
The seminar was held to support the World Autism Awareness Day, under the theme 'Employment: The Autism Advantage.'
Organized in partnership with Al Shafallah Centre for Children with Special Needs and the Intellectual Disability and Autism Programme at Arabian Gulf University (AGU), the two- day event also aimed to increase awareness about people with autism and how they could ideally suit to certain types of employment, such as software testing, data entry, lab work and proofreading, among others.
The event drew over 100 participants which included faculty from QU and AGU, Al Shafallah members, officials from the Omani Autism Society, QU staff and students, and government and civil society partners.
The programme agenda featured an open session delivered by AGU coordinator of Intellectual Disability and Autism Programme Dr Maryam Isa Alshirawi who gave a presentation focused on AGU's various programmes and teachers' professional development, as well as the programmes offered by AGU's non-governmental partners.
It also included lectures by CED members - Department head and event coordinator Dr Asma Al Attiyah, associate professor of Psychological Sciences Dr Hatem Al Khamra, and associate professor of Special Education Dr Kholoud Dababneh. Lectures were also conducted by Al Shafallah members - director of Psychological and Family Support Dr Mohammad Al Attrash, and psychologists Hani Al Sayed and Faten Saleh. Topics discussed included autism definition and characteristics, and Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) services.
In her remarks, CED dean Dr Hissa Sadiq said, "CED continues to showcase its capacity to address issues that reflect on the national priorities on education reform.
"The college serves as a significant link between the government, the education sector and the society in engaging dialogue on timely issues such as inclusion of persons with disabilities in all areas of society."
Al Shafallah Executive Director Mohamed Al Sada said, "We are proud to collaborate with the international community, and share Qatar's great efforts in support of World Autism Awareness Day to shed light on this important issue.
"Through several programmes, advanced services, human expertise and community outreach at the centre, we aim to rehabilitate children with disabilities and integrate them into the society, as well as promote equality for them to become active members in the community.
"This is achieved with the collaborative efforts with the different institutions in Qatar, contributing to a higher level of awareness and the fulfilment of this vision."
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