In Bangladesh, the official number for the number of children on the autism spectrum is 300,000, or 1 in every 94 boys and 1 in every 150 girls have some kind of autism, while the real number is probably much higher. Inner Circle has been working to change the perception of autism and its care.
The biggest impediment to autism care in Bangladesh is that it is not well understood, even though, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 1 in 100 children has autism. Recognising that there was a huge gap in services for children with special needs in Bangladesh, Sajida Foundation started its venture Inner Circle. Inner Circle Private Limited. It provides individualised therapy and counselling programs to children with special needs. Perhaps the biggest contribution of Inner Circle in autism care in Bangladesh is that people now have access to different types of therapy which was previously only accessible to a few people who could afford to go abroad. Onaiza Owais, the founder of Inner Circle, started the organisation in 2017 to provide high-quality treatment right here in Bangladesh.
Perhaps the biggest contribution of Inner Circle in autism care in Bangladesh is that people now have access to different types of therapy which was previously only accessible to a few people who could afford to go abroad.
In collaboration with the Autism Recovery Network, Singapore, Onaiza set up the centre in a small apartment in Banani, with only a handful of therapists and clients. Over the years, as the number of clients grew rapidly, Inner Circle moved to a much bigger space of 8000 square feet, employed more therapists and started providing even more services. Their services include ABA-VB therapy, Speech and Language Therapy (SLT), Occupational Therapy (OT), Social Thinking classes, individual counselling sessions, family counselling sessions and more. In addition, recognising that parents of children on the autism spectrum need extra support, they also provide mental health counselling for parents.
Besides ARN Singapore, they have also partnered with other international organisations that provide training, as well as mentorship and supervision to Inner Circle to make sure that the services they provide are up to international standards. Around 16 of the therapists working at Inner Circle are certified Registered Behaviour Technicians, or are RBT certified by the Behaviour Analysis Certification Board (BACB), which is an international entity. To date, Inner Circle have delivered over 100,000 therapy hours with the help of their Internationally Certified ABA, Speech & Language, and Occupational therapists.
To date, Inner Circle has delivered over 100,000 therapy hours with the help of it’s Internationally Certified ABA, Speech & Language, and Occupational therapists.
Inner Circle works particularly with children between the ages of 2 to 14. According to experts, symptoms of developmental delay start appearing when a child is 18 months to 3 years old. Early interventions are pivotal in making sure that children on the autism spectrum can live as normal a life as possible. Inner Circle has an in-house child and adolescent psychiatrist to help diagnose and provide consultation, and then work with the other therapists to come up with a treatment plan for the child which would include which treatments would be required, how often, etc. All services are customised per the need of the individual child, and therefore the prices of the services vary from child to child.
The biggest challenge for Inner Circle is awareness. We as a society are not fully aware of what factors we should consider to be red flags in a child, and the child’s parents do not understand these red flags. One of the main barriers to children getting the treatment they need is adults not recognising that they need this help in the first place. To that end, they have been working with schools to raise awareness about autism, and providing training to teachers so that they can recognise the symptoms of autism, communicate with their parents and refer those children to the Inner Circle.
Photographs: Courtesy of Inner Circle