First Lady Fazna Ahmed has appealed to make good use of Autism support groups in the Maldives.

First Lady’s comments about the support groups came on Autism Awareness Day, during a family breakfast held at the Autism Center. She noted that the best way to learn more about the autism spectrum disorder was from first hand accounts of another parent who have gone through and experienced the same.

First Lady Fazna highlighted that due to financial circumstances, not every parent would be able to seek treatment abroad or home, and noted that providing as much information as possible by parents who do so would be of great help to everyone.

In her speech, she said that the constitution states that there should not be any differentiation in basic rights between citizens, and noted the importance of people with disabilities leading a life in which their disabilities cause no harm or limit their day to day life. She expressed the need for the society to enable such things through how it functions as a whole.

She added that support groups for Autism and others like it would include people who are genuinely interested in helping the livelihoods of such people. In addition to this, she expressed her opinion on how such organizations should create awareness amongst the society and advocate for their rights. She further stressed on how such services should either be provided complimentary or with a least possible charge.

She requested everyone to spend some time educating people and themselves about the livelihoods of people with Autism during the month of April since it is dedicated to the Autism spectrum disorder.