Experting the Experts is a Corporate Service Responsibility project consisting a group of students from Universiti Teknologi Petronas to create awareness towards the children of autism. Experting the Experts is a Corporate Service Responsibility project consisting a group of 3rd Year 2nd Semester students from Universiti Teknologi Petronas where we have decided to approach those children of
autism which have other unique specialities that are able to train that no common people would have. Generally, autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life due to a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain. Autism shows no racial, ethnic or social boundaries, and cuts across family income, lifestyle and educational levels. Autism and its associated behaviors have been estimated to occur in as many as 1 in 68 newborns. Parents usually see the symptoms in the children between the ages of two and six. Some of the symptoms that are most often found to be associated with autism are: not being scared of danger, either being too sensitive or not sensitive at all to pain, avoiding eye contact, has difficulty expressing what they want or need, routine has to always be the same, and may show an overall difficulty interacting with others. Autism affects the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Children and adults with autism have difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions and leisure or play activities. This disorder makes it hard for them to relate to the outside world. It is hard for them to communicate with others. Aggressive and/or self-injurious behavior may be present in some cases. They may exhibit repeated body movement, such as hand flapping or rocking, unusual responses to people or attachments to objects and resistance to changes in routines. They possibly will experience sensitivities in the five senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. Some children with autism do not speak at all, but most do develop speech although speech is usually delayed, limited or inappropriate. Some may repeat words or mimic sentences or phrases they have observed from someone else. As yet there is no cure for autism, but there is a lot of different medications that are prescribed to reduce the symptoms and better manage the patient. The main reason for approaching people with autism is that we think they are special in their own way and although they may have some disabilities, they are far better than us in other aspects. We want to give the same treatment as we gave to other people around us and at the same time, we want to increases awareness among ourselves about what is autism and how to treat them properly so that they will not feel outcast from ordinary people. Autism is not a disease but it is a disorder that makes ordered life into a jumbled of spring hoppers but yet they could still enjoy their life in other perspectives. Based on a recent study about real life situations related to autism, it is found that a 13-year-old child had developed a new discipline in mathematics and his paper was accepted for publication in a mathematics journal. Another child showed extraordinary skills and interest in molecular gastronomy where he studied the science behind food preparation. A study has found that these youngsters have something in common where all of them had exceptional working memories that hold information active in the mind, keeping it available for further processing. Most people can only hold seven digits at a time but these people not only can remember extraordinarily large numbers but they can also manipulate and carry out calculations that normal people might have trouble managing with pencil and paper. This is why many people said that genius and autism have something in common. We are triggered and determined to approach these helpless autism children to manage their life and survive in this modern era by helping them finding their expertise in themselves that they did not realized. We choose to collaborate with National Autism Society of Malaysia (NASOM) which has big experience with these children. Established on 1987, NASOM consists of professionals and parents with the aim to deliver lifespan services to the community of persons suffering from autism. It is our biggest hope to share happiness with these children.
