In Malaysia there ’ s a limited number of centres for children with autism
and metabolism , improved eye contact , more appropriate behaviour , and enhanced verbal , writing , and self-care skills .
One such centre , Stem Cell Malaysia , supplies a network of specially trained doctors providing regenerative medicine treatments at clinics and private hospitals including Pantai , Subang Jaya Medical Centre , and Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur .
For government ’ s part , new regulations for special education were issued in 2013 that offered equal education support to the disabled , including those with ASD . There is also financial aid provided to all disabled students in primary and secondary school for purchasing books , paying tuition for school , and university .
In 2019 , the then-Malaysian health minister acknowledged a general lack of support for people with ASD beyond their teens and pledged to seek partnerships with other ministries to identify ways to provide support in later life .
“ We see the needs of those with autism , as a lot of focus is given on early intervention but not much activity after they complete secondary education at ages 17 or 18 ,” said Hannah Yeoh at the time . “ Whether it is in jobs related to agriculture , job matching or job coaching in other careers under the human resources ministry , we are considering all these suggestions .”
Despite her positive comments , very little more has been said about the plans since , which have no doubt been slowed by a change of government and the pandemic .
Inadequacies in Malaysia ’ s medical and education systems have also contributed to a significant amount
of parental stress , according to one study of ASD in Malaysia . It said that ASD parents found it difficult to find support , interventions , and therapies , in part due to a lack of knowledge about autism among health professionals . Poor information and lack of resources characterised their journey , from diagnosis to trying to access treatment and support , according to the study ’ s lead author , Dr Kartini Ilas .
“ Because they didn ’ t know enough about autism when their child was diagnosed , most of the parents had to inform themselves , and it was only when they gained enough knowledge that they felt they could cope ,” the clinical psychologist at Universiti Teknologi MARA told Global Health Asia-Pacific .
The study also noted that parents felt they faced stigma due to their child ’ s ASD and said they often felt labelled as being bad parents by their community . One father reportedly said : “ In Malaysia , we can see that people were not so comfortable with my son ’ s tantrums and difficult behaviour . From the way they stared at us , we know .”
But through hard work by learning more about the condition and enrolling in autism workshops provided by public and community groups , the hope is that parents will eventually thrive and even gain a new perspective from their child ’ s condition .
“ It is only by understanding it more that they are able to take away positive experiences from having a child with ASD . In this way , parents will learn to rely on each other more and become closer , and their ability to communicate better with each other , with family members , and with institutions that are supporting them will give them more resilience ,” said Dr Ilas . n
For government ’ s part , new regulations for special education were issued in 2013 that offered equal education support to the disabled , including those with ASD
GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com OCTOBER 2021
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