Autism studies should be introduced in tertiary institutions because the number of autistic children in Fiji has increased dramatically, says Pacific Autism Centre Fiji founder Merina George.
“For the 50 children that we have in our program right now, a lot of them are between the ages of zero to four years old,” she said.
“We have noticed there are a lot more now because from the database of the age group, we notice that a lot more families are coming forward with their children who are four years old and below.
“I have been involved with autism for more than the past 20 years and I can confidently say that we have it (autism) right here in Fiji and we have the statistics to back it up.
“We have stats in our database and my only worry is we do not have as many specialists here in Fiji to look after autistic children.”
Ms George said most families were not aware of their children being autistic until their child reached the age of four or five.
“The biggest testimony is that it’s here in Fiji and if Fiji were to offer courses at university level on the study of autism, it would be really good. “Right now we just have a few of us here in Fiji that has the training to care for or teach children – the spectrum and the capacity is not there.
“We cannot cater for as many as we would like too.
“So I am really looking forward to the day when the University of the South Pacific (USP), Fiji National University (FNU) and University of Fiji (UniFiji) offer studies, specifically on the behaviour of autism.”
Ms George said the centre also facilitates teachers’ professional development training on autism for schools who expressed interest.
