KUALA LUMPUR: There is an imbalance between the number of autism centres nationwide and the number of registered individuals with autism, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri stated that, as of Oct 31 this year, only 33 autism care centres had been registered with the Social Welfare Department (JKM).
Meanwhile, the number of persons with disabilities (PwDs) registered under the learning difficulties category for autism totalled 65,191 individuals during the same period, she added.
"The ministry acknowledges the imbalance between the number of registered autistic PwDs and the number of autism centres nationwide under JKM.
"Hence, the government continuously implements initiatives to address this issue, including efforts to bridge the gap between the demand for and supply of autism-related services and support.
"On our part, the ministry has undertaken several initiatives to bridge this gap, including collaborations with the community and welfare-based voluntary organisations, such as community-based rehabilitation (CBR) centres (establishment)," she said during the minister's question time.
Nancy was responding to a question from Datuk Alias Razak (PN-Kuala Nerus) who asked about the government's plans to increase the number of autism centres nationwide.
She added as of September this year, a total of 19,907 PwDs received services from 573 CBR centres around the country.
At the same time, she acknowledged the insufficient number of professionals in the field.
She added that there are only 498 speech-language therapists and 2,473 occupational therapists registered with the Health Ministry, currently.
"We recognise that this is far from adequate. Moving forward, we will need significantly more professionals in this area.
"To address this, we must develop a robust ecosystem. Additionally, we are working on childcare modules, which we plan to launch during the upcoming Children's Day celebration."
Nancy, however, said not all parents of autistic children need to send their children to specialised care centres.
She added that what is more important is to ensure that the children receive interventions to support their development.
"Intervention programmes such as speech therapy, nutritional therapy and behavioural management therapy are tailored to individual needs.
"Not all these programmes require autistic individuals to attend full-time, daily, as in a nursery setting.
"Many of these intervention programmes follow specific schedules and frequencies, complemented by parental guidance at homes.
"In this regard, autism care centres registered with JKM differ from centres offering intervention programmes that do not require clients to remain on-site for extended periods."