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 After the July conference 2011 in Dhaka, autism in children become one of the top priority topics throughout the country.  We know children with developmental disorder and autism and their families often face major challenges associated with stigma, isolation and discrimination as well as a lack of access to healthcare and education facilities. But for adults with developmental disorders and autism, the situation gets more vulnerable even worse. They are often abused, and in many cases they are the victims of torture both mentally and physically. They have no access in job and social activities as well.

Individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) exhibit common problems with communication and social behavior. This causes difficulties in many areas of life. People with ASDs can be diagnosed in three categories like Social Communication, Social Understanding and Flexibility of Thought.

In severe cases a person with an ASD will need full-time residential care for life. Some adults with ASD are able to live entirely on their own while others can live semi-independently in their own home or apartment if they have assistance with solving major problems, such as personal finances or dealing with the government agencies that provide services to persons with disabilities. The homely environment teaches self-care and housekeeping skills and arranges leisure activities.

There are some model services render to ease the life of adult with autism:

Supervised Group Living

Persons with disabilities frequently live in group homes or apartments staffed by professionals who help the individuals with basic needs. These often include meal preparation, housekeeping, and personal care needs. Higher functioning persons may be able to live in a home or apartment where staff only visits a few times a week. These persons generally prepare their own meals, go to work, and conduct other daily activities on their own.

Living at home

Government funds are available for families that choose to have their adult child with ASD live at home. Some programs may be taken for them including Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Medical Allowances, and others. Information about these programs may ensure from the Local Govt. Unit (Union, Upazila Parishad). An appointment with a local Govt. Unit office is a good first step to take in understanding the programs for which the young and adult is eligible.

Institutions

Although the trend in recent decades has been to avoid placing persons with disabilities into long-term-care institutions, this alternative is still available for persons with ASD who need intensive, constant supervision. Unlike many of the institutions years ago, today's facilities view residents as individuals with human needs and offer opportunities for recreation and simple but meaningful work.

Day treatment

Day Treatment is designed to provide individualized services to adults with autism who have intensive needs. Clinical staffing includes registered nurses, psychologists, speech, occupational and physical therapists. A wide variety of services may offer by various govt. and private organizations to enhance skills in self-care, communication, mobility, independent living, learning, and self direction. These programs may include specialized senior citizen and designed to meet the medical, social and energy levels of senior adults with autism.

Day habilitation

The purpose of Day Habilitation is to increase independence, productivity, and integration for the adult with autism, using a setting away from the home. Services may occur at virtually any community setting including grocery stores, businesses, parks, and place of employment or volunteering.

Day Habilitation activities include: personal grooming (bathing, showering, shaving, toileting), housekeeping, food preparation, money skills (money awareness, banking, budgeting), shopping, social skills, leisure time skills, and traffic safety. The services may be provided to one adult with autism or to groups of people.

Day Habilitation can be provided as non-center based services, i.e. there is no day habilitation building, the participants will meet at a designated located in the community. Day Habilitation provided as center-based services is a more structured for adults with autism, providing some services within a building and some out in the surrounding community.

Vocational services

Vocational counseling, evaluations, career planning, restoration services and/or adaptive  equipment to remove or reduce limitations related to employment,  work and personal adjustment training,  job skills training, supported employment, job placement, post-employment and follow-up services.

Day Training & Sheltered Workshops

Day Training and Sheltered Workshop programs are designed to provide services that will assist adults with autism in developing skills and habits to improve their personal, social, educational, and prevocational functioning to the fullest extent of their abilities.

"Work" in the Day Training programs is defined as engaging in some productive activity for reinforcement which may be money, verbal, or something of special interest to the person. A staff-to-worker ratio of approximately 1:10 is kept, allowing for the learning of basic skills in areas such as grooming and behavioral control.

The Sheltered Workshop provides (generally lower than minimum wage) paid employment in a controlled and protective working environment and employment activities, with individualized goals to help the adult with autism progress toward normal living and productive vocational status.

Skill training may include automotive, porter/matron, food service, shipping and receiving, clerical, bench assembly and machine/tool usage, as well as work adjustment services which help adults with autism adjust to greater demands of the work environment (e.g. acceptance of supervisory demands, flexibility to change tasks, and co-worker interaction).

Supported Employment

This program provides meaningful work for wages in community settings for adults with autism who need long-term supports before starting or restarting unassisted competitive employment (regular job in the community with no assistance). The person must be engaged in a full or part-time schedule for at least 15 hours per week. The work setting must provide frequent social integration with non-disabled co-workers who are not paid caregivers.

Support is a good step in seeking treatment and relieving anxieties, helping to maintain a healthier lifestyle while dealing with this disorder. It is our responsibility to serve them well from individuals to government.

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