The government is going to establish an autistic academy at Mohakhali to give proper education to autistic children aiming to develop them as human resources, official sources said.
They said the education ministry has set an outlay of the Establishment of the Autistic Academy Project with TK74.10 crore which coming from the government domestic resources.
"Although over 3 acres of land required for establishing a full-fledged autistic academy, we are going to set up the academy on 2 acres of land at Mohakhali," Education Secretary Md Nazrul Islam Khan told BSS.
He said the name of the autistic academy will be National Academy for Autism and Neurodevelopment Disabilities (NAAND) as suggested by Chairperson of National Advisory Committee on Autism Saima Wazed Putul.
"It will be a specialized academy with facilities of learning environment for autistic children," he added.
He said in light with the National Education Policy, the education ministry is considering some pragmatic recommendations of experts including psychologists, physicians and academics during workshops regarding curriculum for autistic children.
"We are planning to introduce IT education system, unilingual up to six years, pre-primary, secondary and higher secondary level education with vocational training in the autistic academy to develop the autistic children as human resources," Khan said.
Establishment of Autistic Academy Project Director Professor Salma Begum said the autistic children find it difficult to process information fed to them by their senses.
So the building and interior design now under the process finalization would help dampen sensory information and when finish, it will have non-flicker lighting, muted colors and surfaces that are not shiny or bright, she added.
The project is expected to be completed by December in 2016. Under the project, special training on autism issues will also be given to the teachers at school and college level.
