Autism and the Law: A Path for Qatar brought together legal, scientific, medical, and policy experts to consider the country’s existing landscape for supporting individuals with autism.
An interdisciplinary and comparative analysis enabled participants to identify shortcomings in Qatar’s autism approaches and propose legal and other reforms to help fill the gaps.
Consideration was also given to the increasingly important role artificial intelligence and other technologies play in the diagnosis and treatment of the condition.
Opening remarks were delivered by Susan L Karamanian, dean, College of Law, who also moderated the panel discussion featuring Lorri Unumb, CEO, The Council of Autism Service Providers; Dr Dena al-Thani, associate professor, HBKU’s College of Science and Engineering; Dr Barry Solaiman, assistant professor, HBKU’s College of Law; and Dr Hira F Amin, assistant professor, HBKU’s College of Public Policy.
The proceedings concluded with questions and answers and further contributions from the audience.
“Our discussion was local in scope yet informed by insights from jurisdictions outside Qatar,” remarked Karamanian.
“Unumb is a leading legal expert on autism in the US; the audience and other panelists were moved by her inspiring journey of how she ensured that each state in the US enacted legislation, Ryan’s Law named after her son, to have autism diagnosis and treatment covered by health insurance. Her journey resonated with the audience as many have family members and friends with autism.”
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