The Delhi Declaration on Autism


Delhi Declaration of the SAAN for Autism Spectrum Disorders Conference concluded

http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/delhi-declaration-of-the-saan-for-autism-spectrum-disorders-conference-concluded-1360649633-1


The Delhi Declaration of the first South Asian Autism Network (SAAN) for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) conference concluded in New Delhi on 11 February 2013. 

The Delhi Declaration is as follows:

The members of South Asian Autism Network (SAAN), during New Delhi Declaration took into consideration facts like: 

•    To reiterate the commitment of nations to the concept of all human beings being born free and equal in rights and dignity as enshrined in 
a.    The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, 
b.    The Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, 
c.    The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2007, 
d.    The Declaration of 2nd April as World Autism Awareness Day by the United Nations General Assembly 2007
e.    The Dhaka Declaration on Autism Spectrum Disorders and Developmental Disabilities of July 2011 
•    They reiterated towards its commitment for safeguarding every citizen from discrimination and social exclusion ensuring their inclusion in all spheres of life
•    They noted down their concerns related to the increased occurrence of autism and disorders related to it as well as the absence of population based mechanisms to detect the accessible interventions on time
•    To develop a community based model for early detection, intervention and care for Autism which can surely improve the outcome and become a model for different types of developmental disabilities  
•    The concern for making the appropriate services accessible to children and their families, making it affordable, and increase the human and material costs for communities, families and nations because the scientific evidences for early intervention of the children with autism have increased at a large scale 
•    To consider the stigma, discrimination as well as social exclusion that children and their families can face on a daily basis

The Participant nations undertook:

•    A commitment to themselves to include ASD in all mainstream policies and programmes of their nations for addressing the issues related to early childhood development in all spheres of community life
•    To develop measures for early detection and surveillance services at every level 
•    Evaluation and implementation of the efficacious and effective programs for addressing the life cycle needs of person with ASD 
•    The member countries agreed to undertake collaborative research on all aspects of autism 
•    To strive to improve Awareness, develop collaborative networks for Advocacy and Legislation/Policy changes if required, on ASD which will also provide a platform for the voices of persons with ASD and their families 
•    Implementation of the Dhaka Declaration on Autism Spectrum Disorders and Developmental Disabilities of 2011, in both letter and spirit