By: Yasmin Yusoff
Photo: Marina Ismail

SERDANG, Feb  24 – Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Seksyen Bimbingan dan Kerjaya Staf (SBKS) of the Registrar Office, held a motivational programme, Living With Autism, which was attended by 79 UPM staff.

Chief of Seksyen Bimbingan dan Kerjaya Staf, Rafidah Sadarudin said the objective of the monthly programme was to expose staff to the signs and characteristics of autism sufferers.

“This programme also provides chances for staff with autistic kids to share their experiences and gain more information about this disorder,” she said.
The programme also helped to expose the society to the condition, thus preventing them from discriminating those suffering from autism.

“Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the information processing function in one’s brain, leading to compulsive behaviour, impairing social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication and other restricted and repetitive behavioural problems,” she said.

The sharing of information session was presented by UPM Senior Lecturer from the English Department’s Modern Language and Communication (FBMK) Faculty, Dr. Che An Abdul Ghani, UKM Deputy Dean (Graduates & International) of Health Sciences Faculty, Associate Prof. Dr. Kartini Ahmad and independent speaker, Ku Yusoff Ismail. Dr. Che An has 26 years of experience in bringing up an autistic child, Yuri Azzari Yuri Zaharin, who is still unable to speak until today.

“Despite his condition, I realized that he has that talent in painting. When he was three years old, he started to scribble using pens or pencils. I took the initiative to push him to do better in painting and he is now being helped and guided by Malaysia’s outstanding painter, Raja Azhar Raja Idris,” she said.
This motivational programme which started in the year 2010 is held every month with different topics.

Among the highlights discussed during this session were “Loving Parents Excellent Kids’, Teambuilding Gamification’, ‘Rindu Menanti Ramadan’, ‘Healthy Inside Beauty Outside’ and ‘Psikodrama Andai Aku Bersuara’. Financial Management will be the topic to be discussed in the next series in March. – UPM.

Date of Input: | Updated: | amir_peli