The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Autism Families Association, Prince Saud bin Abdulaziz bin Farhan, opened the conference “Developing autism services... through innovation and integration”, which is held under the patronage of Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Defense, and organized by the association in cooperation with the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Autism Center. And developmental disorders at Prince Sultan Military Medical City, over two days, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel - Digital City, in Riyadh.
The international conference was launched with the aim of sharing the latest research, best practices and innovations in the field of autism spectrum disorder, and improving the quality of life for people with autism and their families, in the presence of the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi, and the General Director of the Geniuses Day Care Center, Princess Dania bint Abdullah bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, Secretary General of the King Khalid Foundation, Princess Moudi bint Khalid bin Abdulaziz, Princess Samira bint Abdullah bin Farhan, and founder of the Autism Families Association, along with more than 250 doctors, experts and specialists, from within the Kingdom and various countries of the world.
At the opening of the conference, Prince Saud bin Abdulaziz stressed that experts from around the world are meeting today on the territory of the Kingdom and in the heart of Riyadh for one goal, which is to improve the services provided to people with autism and their families in the Kingdom, noting that the association witnessed during the current year the launch of a number of projects to serve the community, Especially the precious group it serves, the most prominent of which is the “Tif Aziz” mobile convoy that ended its tour around the Kingdom by visiting 53 cities, governorates and villages in 13 regions, over a long trip that lasted about three months, to raise awareness and early detection of people with autism spectrum disorder throughout the Kingdom.
The Secretary-General of the Autism Families Association, Areej Al-Muallem, and the Director of the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Center for Autism and Developmental Disorders, Dr. Hadeel Al-Khamis, also delivered speeches in which they stressed the importance of the conference and its role in charting paths of cooperation between various agencies and experts to serve people with autism and their families, and to invest in the opportunities and lessons learned to improve the lives of people with autism and their families. Patients, and cooperation on topics raised by the conference such as innovation, early diagnosis, technology, disorders and comorbidities, awareness, as well as integrated and advanced services provided.
On its first day, the conference witnessed the holding of six sessions, and these sessions were attended by a number of local and international speakers. On its second day, the conference discusses technology-enabled autism care, a session on the concept and cross-cultural validation, differential diagnosis of communication disorders, and transforming methods of supporting spectrum disorders. Autism.