The first National Autism Conference was held at Tehran’s Milad Tower on Saturday in cooperation with the Autism Children Charity Foundation. The conference saw a strong turnout by a number of famous public figures namely actresses Fatemeh Motamed-Arya and Shaqayeq Dehqan, musician and composer Reza Yazdani, director and screenwriter Behrouz Baqayi, among others, as well as officials from the health and labor ministries, State Welfare Organization and Tehran City Council, ISNA reported. “Autism Spectrum Disorders are a serious issue as the incidence has jumped to one in every 65 births globally in 2010 from one in every 1,000 two decades ago (WHO data). We must also prepare all educational, medical, rehabilitation, and pharmaceutical organizations to deal with it,” said Deputy Health Minister Mohammad Hadi Ayyazi. Establishing a specialized school for ASD children, raising awareness among people and families, and training school teachers on how to treat autistic kids were discussed at the meeting.
