| By Zan Hosni &
Hj Yusof Thani
Hj Malai Abdullah (R), president of Smarter Brunei, briefs
guests on the establishment of the nation’s first ASD Centre
Smarter Brunei, a family
support group formed to attend to the needs of children
diagnosed with ASD (autism spectrum disorder), achieved another
milestone when they recently established their Autism Spectrum
Disorder Centre at the Jigsaw Primary School, Simpang 187, Jalan
Lambak.
A donation, which totalled to
about $11,720, gave the centre a head start to be able to
purchase education and learning equipment for the benefit of the
children. Proceeds came from the “Ball For All” event, which
was held at the Empire Hotel last year. It was organised by a
group comprising of Diplomats’ wives, International Ladies,
expatriates and well-wishers.
The president of Smarter
Brunei, Hj Malai Abdullah, hopes that by establishing such a
centre, various development activities and programmes for
autistic children would be implemented - especially the
‘one-to-one’ learning.
“This would hopefully,” he
added: “…make parents and families more ‘effectively and
productively’ involved with the development of these
children.”
The successful running of the
centre needs the full support from committed family members,
individuals, professionals and ‘endless support’ from both
government and private sectors, he pointed out.
He advised families to be
positive in their approach and to overcome any negative feelings
for the betterment of their special children. For more
information, telephone 08-743777 or visit the centre.
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