THERE sits an unusual looking building along Jalan Sentul Perdana in Kuala Lumpur.
Architect Mumtazah Mustajab planned the centre by drawing inspiration from the experiences of her 13-year-old son, Najib Mohamad Fathullah, who has autism. “Many children with autism also have sensory issues. This is why we need an environment that helps to keep them calm and not further aggravate their senses,” autism specialist Dr Hasnah Toran says, explaining the importance of having specially designed buildings and facilities.
“There are parents who uprooted their families from Miri and Kuching. There are parents who have homes in Raub, but rent an apartment in Sentul so that their child can attend Genius Kurnia,” the management says. Muhammad Ammar, who has autism, playing with toys with his parents Dr Nur Farhana and Dr Mohammad at Genius Kurnia.After four to five months on the waiting list, six-year-old Muhammad Ammar who is diagnosed with autism, was accepted into Genius Kurnia and quickly began making strides.
She hopes that more centres will open up across the country to cater to those outside of the Klang Valley.Apart from logistical problems, Sharliza also faces difficulty finding a centre like Genius Kurnia, which provides a comprehensive service. “Most children with autism need one-to-one attention. The difficulty we face is that our centres must have a low ratio of teachers to students. It is usually one teacher to three students and at maximum, two teachers to seven students,” she says, adding that each Nasom school can take at most 60 students.
“We could not continue maintaining the five the centres, especially in this economic climate. It is difficult to find money and so we are looking at different avenues for funding, either by hosting events, looking for corporate sponsors or organising fundraising activities,” she says, adding that Nasom plans to open a sixteenth centre next month.
Moving forward, Feilina advocates for the opening of more government-run early-intervention centres and more accredited specialist centres.To address increasing demands, two more Genius Kurnia centres are currently in the works; one in Kedah and another in Melaka.