Bawabat Al Sharq Mall, Abu Dhabi’s premier family shopping and leisure destination, recently joined Emirates Autism Society, Goals UAE and Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Special Education in support of spreading awareness to general public.

The program was in line with the global efforts of the World Autism Awareness Day to spread information about the communication and behaviour disorder, and to help the global ASD population lead a healthy social life.

 

The ‘Be Aware. Be Understanding’ activation was held on 18 April 2019 from 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The evening programme included colorful Traditional Dance Performances by children of Emirates Autism Society, Individual Musical Performances by the children of Emirates Autism Society, a special Choir Performance by the children of Mohammed bin Rashid Center and Autism 101 lectures in English, Tagalog and Arabic by Mohammed bin Rashid Center. The highlight of the evening was a Robotics creation and demonstration led by autistic students.

 

The day began with special morning activities for children with autism from different centers which were held prior to the evening programme. The children were treated to fun activities at Wanasaland, in addition to face painting, colouring activity and Math Magician show.

 

According to the World Health Organisation one out of every 160 children lives with autism. However, there is a lack of awareness about this disorder on a whole. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder of variable severity which causes disruption in communication and social interaction. The disorder is also characterized through repetitive behaviour and thoughts.