Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi pats SRMIST for treating autism patients

Kattankulthur (TN): Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi said there was very little awareness about autism in our country. He was participating in the international conference on 'Recent Advancements in Autism-Global Perspective' at SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST) here on Saturday.

He appreciated SRM College of Occupational Therapy (OT) at SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre (SRMCH&RC) for treating autistic patients for the last two decades.

"The lack of awareness about autism leads to denial of acceptance of the problem among parents, especially if it is a girl child. In many cases, denial is the first step and acceptance comes much later. So the much-needed intervention is not given to the child. Each child is uniquely affected, so the intervention and needs should be identified," he said.

The Governor noted that India has over 10 million people affected with this problem. This disorder is unfolding in a worrisome way and it leads to multi-dimensional implications. Therefore, to ease the situation, it has to be understood in both academic and non-academic angles

Ravi said said that students in this discipline have a huge responsibility towards autistic people.

R Paarivendhar, founder chancellor of SRMIST and Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha said the treatment and awareness of autism is the need of the hour and relevant to everyone. He said autism cannot be well-defined as each child is affected in a different way. "At SRM's OT, we are treating about 35 – 40 patients with autism per day. Overall 5,000 patients have been successfully treated since the inception of the college," he said.

Dr P. Sathyanarayanan, pro chancellor (academics), SRMIST and others spoke.