Trainer urges for ‘compassion and understanding’ towards autistic persons

Kindness, compassion and understanding are the three basic emotional needs of a person with autism, according to a leading coach who supports individuals with autism. As the World Autism Awareness Day is marked on April 2, Sana Ghawas, founder and head coach as well as the CEO of Wonder Fitness Centre, Bahrain told 'Gulf Times': “If all the community really learnt what autism is and what it is all about and tried to understand them a bit, everything will change. Schools will change their policies and will start accepting kids who are nonverbal but have other means of communication like sign languages or PECS ( Picture exchange Communication System), because they understand them well.” “Playgrounds will have different rules because they understand them. Movie theatres will modify some of its setting to accommodate for them. Once you include them in all aspects of life and that is when you help them live a life where they are equal to their peers,” Ghawas continued.The CEO is very optimistic that the autistic people can be brought back to the mainstream of life if proper steps and care is given to them.“Yes, we definitely can bring them to mainstream life. Again, it's a matter of understanding and including them in all aspects of life. Because it is their right to live like everyone else. We need to step out of that box where we isolate them and keep them in a different place, different class, different setting. Yes the setting has to be modified to accommodate them,” explained Ghawas.“We need to educate the children and the kids about it more and more. Therefore, they can understand why this child is spinning and why this child is flapping his hands. That child with autism could be overwhelmed with everything surrounding him or her and they are just trying to regulate themselves,” she noted. The trainer said that there are several technical advances to help the people suffering from this disorder. “There has been the use of robots like Moxie from embodied.com in USA to help kids with autism and other disorders and engage them in creative play, drawing, story-telling, mindfulness practice among others. It helps promote important life skills such as conversation, turn-taking, emotion regulation, and how to make friends,” she remarked. The founder of the Wonder Fitness Centre said that the centre has collaborated with Therapy Centre, Think inc and fitness centre and Crossfit Delmon to raise more awareness about autism through exercises and organises special days just for neurodiversity acceptance. “We are trying more and more to raise that awareness through exercises and to show the community that individuals with autism are capable of learning anything. It's just a matter of breaking the exercises down for them, using visuals, having a space that is accommodating for their needs and the most important part is believing in them with a big heart,” she concluded.