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When staff members at the Dubai Autism Center set up a stall at the Sharjah International Book Fair in 2005, most visitors were not familiar with the term Autism. “They asked us, what is autism? They didn’t know the word, either in Arabic or English,” says Yousef Al Dhafer, Project Manager at the Dubai Autism Center. Visitors used to ask questions like, “Are they people like us? Do they have special powers?” Many also ask about what caused autism, a question currently debated in the medical community.
Due to a successful education campaign by the Center, and growing awareness globally, book fair visitors in 2013 have come to the stall with different kinds of questions. The public is looking for new publications, and want to find out the latest research as well as read new books on the topic. “We are here to educate people, to explain the disease and tell them how to work with their children,” Al Dhafer explains.
On the shelves this year is the recently published Autism Encyclopedia, compiled by the Center. The resource defines terms, reviews the evolving history of the condition, and recounts success stories of people with autism, including those of celebrities.
The Dubai Autism Center has been hosting an exhibition stall at SIBF for the past 8 years, to educate the public on their specialized services for children ages 4 to 18.
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Sharjah International Airport - 41°F
