Saudi Arabia : The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has approved the National Policy for National Survey of Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Secretary General of the Saudi Health Council (SHC) Dr. Nahar bin Mezki Al Azemi said that King Salman’s approval of decisions made by the SHC embodies interest in the health sector in Saudi Arabia and harnessing capabilities to develop the level and quality of health services, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The survey is part of organizing and legalizing services offered to families of people of growth and behavior disorders in coordination with health sectors and stakeholders, he said.
The national policy aims at implementing organized procedures to uncover autism spectrum disorders in the preliminary healthcare in early stages and deal with these cases through the national survey and raising health awareness, he added.
Dr. Al Azemi noted that the decision required health sectors that provide services for children to adopt gradual steps in applying the policy before the end of 2022.
He said that all cases diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder would be listed on the national register of autism spectrum disorder at SHC.
