NEW YORK: Autistic children are not the society’s burden, they are our children, and they have equal rights to grow up as like the normal children, said Saima Wazed Putul, National Advisory Committee chairperson of Global Autism, a public health initiative in Bangladesh.

Saima was addressing an international seminar at the North Lawn Building at the United Nation Headquarters in New York on Tuesday morning local time.

She said: “These days, autism is an international problem beyond countries’ geographical area; attention from the family to the international levels is the main tools for alleviating the problems.”

Saima called upon everyone allover the world to be aware of autism.

She informed the audiences about the different measures taken by Government of Bangladesh for autism movement.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a video massage, said: “We have to move forward with a widening mentality to help the autistic people in education, health and all other fields.”

Presided over by Bangladesh Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen,  Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the UN Sheikha Alya Ahmed Bin Saif Al-Thani, India`s Permanent Representative to the UN Asoke Kumar Mukerji, US Representative to the UN Economic and Social Council Elizabeth M. Cousens, Deputy Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the UN Usman Sarki, and UN Chef de Cabinet to the Executive Office Susana Malcorra, Autism Speaks co-founder Suzanne Wright, among others, attended the function.

Dr Momen, in his address, presented a seven-point work strategy to protect the autistics children urging the UN Secretary-General to adopt a resolution to spread out the autism movement worldwide.

Splitting in three sessions, US television WABC’s popular anchor and journalist Bill Wright moderated the programme.
One out of 88 in USA and some 70 million people globally are attacked by autism.

BDST: 1034 HRS APR 2, 2014