Autismjo partners with ministry to educate mothers of autistic children

AMMAN – The Society for the Care of Gifted Autistic Children (Autismjo) has held two courses for the mothers of autistic children in Irbid and Mafraq, in partnership with the Ministry of Social Development. 

The training was held at development centres affiliated with the ministry, and coordinated by its Persons with Disability Affairs Directorate. The workshops attracted more than 70 Jordanian and Syrian refugee mothers, an Autismjo statement said.   

The first course was held in Irbid on Monday at Al Manar Centre for Intellectual Development, which offers free-of-charge educational and rehabilitation services to about 50 children suffering from various disabilities, according to its director, Tamam Al Ghoul. 

She underlined the importance of mother-oriented training to increase their awareness on how best to deal with their disabled children, urging further partnerships between the ministry and NGOs. 

The Mafraq-based Centre for Training and Rehabilitation, which was the venue for Wednesday's training, serves children with disabilities up to the age of 18, according to Safaa Omoush, its director, who added that the Syrian refugee influx has added pressure on the centre's operations. 

Omoush said that the facility has offered training and rehabilitation services to more than 2,600 children with various disabilities, while 1,150 Syrian refugees have benefited from awareness programmes held at the centre, which were implemented in cooperation with Save the Children. 

She commended the training offered by Autismjo, which focuses on mothers and equipping them with the knowledge and skills to deal with their children at home. 

Autismjo's technical director, Najah Fuad, who handled the training, said its focus was on planning and evaluation methodologies, stressing the importance of integration between these skills and others offered by the ministry's specialists. 

Earlier this year, Autismjo conducted training in the central region under the same programme, which raised the total number of beneficiaries to 100 mothers who have learned how to deal with their children’s behaviour.