Foster care for autistic children in offing

The government has decided to introduce foster care system in the country for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and who do not have own families, and is also planning other programmes for their welfare.

According to the health ministry sources, the government has taken the plan as part of its effort for making such children, including autistic children, able to contribute to the country's socio-economic development.

Gradually, the government will introduce the foster-family care service in the country and a concept paper is being prepared in this regard, a senior official of the ministry told the UNB.

Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home, or private home of a state-certified caregiver referred to as a foster parent. The placement of the child is usually arranged through the government or a social-service agency. The institution, group home or foster parent is compensated for expenses.

The state via the family court and child protection agency stand in loco parentis to the minor, making all legal decisions while the foster parent is responsible for the day-to-day care of the minor.

The official, who wished not to be named, said the government, apart from developing the human resource in the country, has taken some other plans for the country's autistic children.

According to a document obtained by the UNB, the government will start free autistic schools in some 103 disabled service and help centres across the country.

The disabled service and help centres have already been established in all districts and in some upazilas, and the government has taken steps to gradually extend these centres to all upazilas.

The government also decided to establish special schools for autistic children in all districts.

As the government does not have any statistics on how many people are affected by autism in the country, a survey is being conducted to estimate their number. The survey will be completed very soon, it added.

The government also decided to intensify mobile therapy service and e-therapy programme along with autism related services for early detection and early intervention.

The government already introduced one-stop therapy service in 2010 to provide free physiotherapy, hearing test, visual test, counselling, training and assisting materials to challenged persons in remote areas.

 “To intensify the programme, a process is at the final stage to arrange for 32 mobile therapy vans in the current fiscal year (2014-15)”, the document said. It also mentioned that 12 acres of land have been allocated for the construction of a multipurpose sports complex at Savar (Baroigram and South Ramchandrapur) in Dhaka for setting up rehabilitation centres, football and cricket fields, entertainment zones, swimming pools, multi-purpose gymnasiums, mosques, residential quarters, guesthouses and hostels for challenged and autistic people.