Helping autistic patients integrate into society

April 23, 2012
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Riyadh, April 23: Defense Minister Prince Salman yesterday opened the Prince Nasser bin Abdulaziz Autism Center that belongs to the Saudi Charitable Society for Autism.


Prince Turki bin Nasser sent his thanks to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for his support for the center, which adheres to international standards.


Prince Turki said: “Prince Salman’s dedication to this center comes from his keenness in supporting social and charitable activities, especially those targeting the disabled. Members of the Saudi Charitable Society for Autism are very keen on seeking the best services for this section of society in the Kingdom.”


Zayd bin Abdullah Al-Mashari, adviser to Prince Nasser, explained the center was established in 1997 under the name Academy of Special Education. It then came under the supervision of the Saudi Charity for Autism, authorized officially by the Ministry of Social Affairs. Approval was granted by King Abdullah to name the center after Prince Nasser.


The late Crown Prince Sultan donated SR10 million, while the contribution of Prince Turki, chairman of the center, was the land on which the center stands. The area is 10,000 sq. meters and valued at SR25 million in addition to SR10 million worth of support from the Ministry of Social Affairs.


Al-Mishari added the center consists of six basic units all working for the benefit of people with autism, including one for the overall clinical diagnosis of autism, one for early intervention, one for the education of boys, an evening program unit and a unit for the vocational rehabilitation of boys.


The unit of vocational training for girls will be operational by the beginning of the next scholastic year, as will the unit of education and training that will hold lectures, seminars and workshops and facilitate participation in exhibitions and distribute publications.


Al-Mishari said that the center seeks to achieve other objectives including the protection of rights and equal opportunities and integrate those with autism into mainstream society.


It also aims to provide education, training and rehabilitation for children and adults with autism, provide activities aimed at the discovery and development of their potential to the highest possible extent, and raise public awareness of individuals with autism in the community to facilitate acceptance and improve their daily lives, especially with regard to social interaction with others.


The center will organize courses and workshops for teachers, specialists and parents involved in the education and training of children with autism, and to support research and studies that deal with people with autism by providing opportunities for researchers.


Al-Mishari said: “The conditions for access to the center include providing a medical report from a clinic that outlines the diagnosis of autism and similar disorders. The age of the child should be at least two years and not more than seven years for boys to join the unit of early intervention, and girls should not be more than 14 years.”


“Tuition fees at the center is SR15,000 annually, which is less than half the tuition fees in nongovernmental centers for people with special needs. For those unable to pay the fees, Saudi charities may be able to help.”


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News Network
November 29,2024

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The Israeli military has conducted fresh attacks on Lebanon in violation of a ceasefire agreement with the Hezbollah resistance movement and ramped up its deadly airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

In a statement posted Thursday on X, the Lebanese army said Israeli occupation forces several times violated the truce deal just after it went into effect, and the following day.

"These breaches included aerial violations and attacks on Lebanese territory using various weapons," it added.

The Israeli military confirmed its Thursday aerial assault on southern Lebanon, adding that its forces had also opened fire towards the people who were driving to their homes in the area.

Earlier, Lebanese media reported that at least two people were wounded after Israeli tank fire hit five towns and some agricultural fields in the country's south.

"The Israeli enemy is attacking those returning to the border villages," Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said. "There are violations today by Israel, even in this form."

Israel was forced to accept a ceasefire with Hezbollah after suffering heavy losses following more than 14 months of fighting and failing to achieve its goals in its aggression on Lebanon.

The truce agreement, brokered by the United States and France, came into effect before dawn on Wednesday. It will last for 60 days in the hope of reaching a permanent cessation of hostilities.

At least 3,961 people were killed and 16,520 others injured in Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Hezbollah opened a support front for Palestinians in Gaza only a day after Israel unleashed its war against the besieged territory in October 2023, launching numerous retaliatory attacks against Israeli targets in the occupied territories. 

In a statement that followed the ceasefire, Hezbollah vowed to continue resisting Israel and monitoring the occupation army’s withdrawal from south Lebanon “with [our] hands on the trigger” in defense of Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Hezbollah further empathized that its fighters “remain fully equipped to deal with the aspirations and assaults of the Israeli enemy."

It also reaffirmed its commitment to the Palestinian cause, noting that it will continue the path of resistance with even greater determination.

Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 42

Across the Gaza Strip, at least 42 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Thursday. 

Reports said Israeli forces stepped up their bombardment of Gaza's central areas and tanks pushed deeper into the Palestinian territory’s north and south.

Since October 2023, the Tel Aviv regime has so far killed at least 44,330 Palestinians and injured 104,933 others in its brutal Gaza onslaught.

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said at least 70 percent of those killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza were women and children.

Philippe Lazzarini said the ongoing Israeli offensive in the northern edge of Gaza has uprooted 130,000 people over the past seven weeks.

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News Network
November 17,2024

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An Israeli airstrike on the office of Syria’s Baath party in Lebanon’s capital Beirut has killed the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah's Media Relations Officer, Mohammad Afif, reports say.

Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that the Israeli raid struck the Ba'ath party’s building in central Beirut district of Ras Al-Naba'a on Sunday, adding that the strike was an attempt to assassinate the leader of the resistance media front.

According to Baath Secretary-General Ali Hijazi, Afif was having a meeting in the Baath Party headquarters when Israel carried out the attack.

"Afif did not fight with weapons and did not lead a military unit in Hezbollah. Rather, he led a media unit," he said.

Reuters, Sky News, Al Jazeera and a number of Henrew-language media reported that Afif was killed in the Israeli strike.

However, Hezbollah has not yet confirmed Afif’s death or whether he was present at the site or not.

Earlier, the Lebanese Health Ministry said at least one person was killed and three others injured after an Israeli strike targeted a central district in Beirut.

Lebanon's al-Mayadeen television network reported that five people were killed in the attack.

The latest development came after Afif said Hezbollah was behind the Caesarea operation and targeting Netanyahu’s home during a speech at the Ghobeiry area in the southern suburbs of Beirut on October 22.

This was the second assassination attempt on Afif in the last two months, after he survived an attack on the Hezbollah media relations office several weeks ago.

Israel launched a ground assault and massive air campaign against Lebanon in late September after a year of exchanging fire across the Lebanese border in parallel with the Gaza war.

At least 3,287 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon over the past year, with the vast majority in the past seven weeks. Another 14,222 have been wounded, mostly women and children.

In response to the ongoing aggression, the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has been staging hundreds of retaliatory strikes against the occupied Palestinian territories and the Israeli forces trying to advance on southern Lebanese areas.

The movement has vowed to sustain its strikes until the regime ends the escalation.

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News Network
November 15,2024

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Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has killed or captured 69 terrorists linked to the Israeli spy agency Mossad during a major counterterrorism drill in the country's southeast, its spokesman says.  

General Ahmad Shafaei, the spokesman for the “Martyrs of Security” drill, said Friday that a total of 23 terrorists have been killed and another 46 arrested in various clean-up operations ever since the IRGC Ground Force launched it in the Sistan and Baluchestan province on November 1.

Seven terrorists have also turned themselves in during the period.

“The undeniable fact about terrorists is that they rely on arrogant powers, particularly the intelligence service of the wicked and vicious Zionist regime," Shafaei said.

“Unfortunately, weapons and munitions at terrorists’ disposal are among the most sophisticated ones in the world. This accounts for their heavy dependence.” 

The official stated that several members of the disbanded terror teams were non-Iranian nationals, who had been hired by foreign intelligence agencies to carry out acts of sabotage and terror inside Iran.

In a most recent operation, six terrorists were arrested and four others were eliminated, three of whom were non-Iranians, he added. 

On October 26, ten members of Iran's law enforcement forces were killed in a terrorist attack in the Gohar Kuh district of Taftan in the Sistan and Baluchestan province.

The so-called Jaish al-Adl terrorist group claimed responsibility for the assault, which was one of the deadliest in the province in recent months.

The group has carried out numerous terrorist attacks in Iran, primarily in Sistan and Baluchestan.

Its tactics include the abduction of border guards as well as targeting civilians and police stations within the province to incite chaos and disorder.

In January, Iran launched a military operation during which the headquarters of the Pakistan-based terrorist group was targeted in missile strikes, destroying its infrastructure.

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