SHARJAH CENTER FOR AUTISM ORGANIZES AN INFORMATIVE CAMPAIGN
On Wednesday, April 17, 2019, Sharjah Center for Autism organized the Fourth Sports Festival at Al Thiqa Club for the Handicapped as part of Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (SCHS) informative campaign during April. More than 140 students with autism spectrum disorders coming from 14 different specialized centers in United Arab Emirates participated.
Dr. Siham Al-Humaimat, Director of the Sharjah Autism Center, has confirmed that organizing the festival for four consecutive years indicates the importance of sports in improving students’ general health, enable them to develop their skills, and raise people’s awareness of their talents and skills.
She said, “Sharjah Center for Autism cares to make sports a primer activity and part of its programs and services. Sports help improve students’ social communication skills. These sports include riding and swimming among other sports”.
Dr. Al-Humaimat has pointed out that sports does not only improve students with autism spectrum disorders health. It is a very effective way to teach and develop those students’ skills, which corresponds to SCHS vision and mission.
In addition, she has pointed out SCHS leading role in offering services to students with autism spectrum disorder and their families, on the hands of the best professionals. The center also consolidates the relationships of cooperation with local, regional, and international centers and bodies and stays updated with the latest trends in the field of disability according to the best practices worldwide.
In the fourth sports festival, students competed in a variety of competitions, as the large audience was electrifying and encouraging people with autism spectrum disorder.
Specialists from the centers taking part in the festival have praised Sharjah Center for Autism organization of festival and its care to encourage the largest number of students with autism to participate in the competitions.
They have confirmed that competitions were successful in general as it was able to achieve SCHS’s educational and informative objectives. They wished the best to Sharjah Center for Autism.
To conclude the festival, winners were given honoring armor and acknowledgment certificates. On the other hand, those who won first places were given colored medals.
Notably, Sharjah Center for Autism, which SCHS founded in 2002, offers services to more than 75 persons with autism spectrum disorders. More than 50 teachers, trainers, and specialists offer these services, which corresponds to the latest international trends in the field of disability.