Child with autism plays at a friendly sports programme held last year. (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) - Vocational training andoccupational counselling for people with autism are needed to help them liveindependently and better integrate into society, experts said.
At an ASEAN policy workshop held on April 1 in HCM City, Dr NguyenXuan Thang, director of the Centre for Rehabilitation and Support Children WithDisabilities in the city, said that this kind of counselling is lacking in Vietnam.
Only a few establishments, most of them set up by parents ofchildren with autism, are providing vocational training and occupationalcounselling, Thang said.
Students at Tuoi Ngoc Specialised School in the city’s Binh Thanh district,for instance, are taught how to make handicraft products, such as key rings,bracelets and postcards. They also learn to weave handbags, along with cookingand making cakes.
According to Pham Thi Kim Tam, founder of the Tuoi Ngoc SpecialisedSchool, people with autism can work in restaurants, coffee shops, hotels andsupermarkets. Computer game testing could also be suitable for people withautism, Tam said.
Pham Thi Yen, deputy director of the Albert Einstein Centre in Hanoi,says people with autism can also work in office jobs, doing simple work thatdoes not require a high level of skills because their capacity forconcentration is limited.
They also find it difficult to sit for a long time. Moreover,their eye-hand co-ordination is not good, leading to slowness and inexactitudein working and they need supervisors to assist them, she said, adding that itis difficult for them to get jobs.
The number of enterprises recruiting people with autism is verylow, Yen said.
A mother of a 14-year-old boy from Hai Phong city told VietnamNews that like every other mother, she wants her son to get a job whenhe grows up. However, it is difficult. “Children with autism need more time forlearning than other children,” she said.
They need people to have a deep understanding about their capacityto work, but community awareness about them remains low, she added.
Thang of the Centre for Rehabilitation and Support Children WithDisabilities said he plans to provide occupational counselling and vocationaltraining for children with autism at the centre in the upcoming time.
The centre will co-operate with other relevant organisations andschools as well as enterprises to carry this out, he added.
Dr Huynh Tan Mam said “Before providing occupational counsellingand vocational training, children with autism should be taught necessary livingskills which are useful for them at work.”
Doan Huu Minh, head of the Social Work Division at Agency ofSocial Protection, said that the country has more than 200,000 people withautism.
The Government has also amended policies, including buildingmodels for establishments to raise and provide assistance to children withautism, Down syndrome, and other disabilities.
In the future, these policies will also be perfected to providebetter rehabilitation.
The General Directorate of Vocational Training is also learningthe demands of autistic people and will set up more programmes suitable forthem.
The workshop was held by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids andSocial Affairs in co-operation with the Vietnam Autism Network. It was a partof the 2nd Vietnam Autism Awareness Day held on April 1 and 2.
On April 2, more than 600 children with autism and their parentsfrom eight provinces and cities attended friendly sports programmes in whichthey competed with each other in swimming, running and others sports.-VNA
At an ASEAN policy workshop held on April 1 in HCM City, Dr NguyenXuan Thang, director of the Centre for Rehabilitation and Support Children WithDisabilities in the city, said that this kind of counselling is lacking in Vietnam.
Only a few establishments, most of them set up by parents ofchildren with autism, are providing vocational training and occupationalcounselling, Thang said.
Students at Tuoi Ngoc Specialised School in the city’s Binh Thanh district,for instance, are taught how to make handicraft products, such as key rings,bracelets and postcards. They also learn to weave handbags, along with cookingand making cakes.
According to Pham Thi Kim Tam, founder of the Tuoi Ngoc SpecialisedSchool, people with autism can work in restaurants, coffee shops, hotels andsupermarkets. Computer game testing could also be suitable for people withautism, Tam said.
Pham Thi Yen, deputy director of the Albert Einstein Centre in Hanoi,says people with autism can also work in office jobs, doing simple work thatdoes not require a high level of skills because their capacity forconcentration is limited.
They also find it difficult to sit for a long time. Moreover,their eye-hand co-ordination is not good, leading to slowness and inexactitudein working and they need supervisors to assist them, she said, adding that itis difficult for them to get jobs.
The number of enterprises recruiting people with autism is verylow, Yen said.
A mother of a 14-year-old boy from Hai Phong city told VietnamNews that like every other mother, she wants her son to get a job whenhe grows up. However, it is difficult. “Children with autism need more time forlearning than other children,” she said.
They need people to have a deep understanding about their capacityto work, but community awareness about them remains low, she added.
Thang of the Centre for Rehabilitation and Support Children WithDisabilities said he plans to provide occupational counselling and vocationaltraining for children with autism at the centre in the upcoming time.
The centre will co-operate with other relevant organisations andschools as well as enterprises to carry this out, he added.
Dr Huynh Tan Mam said “Before providing occupational counsellingand vocational training, children with autism should be taught necessary livingskills which are useful for them at work.”
Doan Huu Minh, head of the Social Work Division at Agency ofSocial Protection, said that the country has more than 200,000 people withautism.
The Government has also amended policies, including buildingmodels for establishments to raise and provide assistance to children withautism, Down syndrome, and other disabilities.
In the future, these policies will also be perfected to providebetter rehabilitation.
The General Directorate of Vocational Training is also learningthe demands of autistic people and will set up more programmes suitable forthem.
The workshop was held by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids andSocial Affairs in co-operation with the Vietnam Autism Network. It was a partof the 2nd Vietnam Autism Awareness Day held on April 1 and 2.
On April 2, more than 600 children with autism and their parentsfrom eight provinces and cities attended friendly sports programmes in whichthey competed with each other in swimming, running and others sports.-VNA
VNA
