Welcoming Message from the Chairperson, Organizing Committee

As of 2008, the World Autism Awareness Day on 2^nd April has officially been designated by the United Nation to become an occasion all over the world to increase public awareness on “Autism”.

On behalf of Organizing Committee, I welcome you all to the “Hong Kong Autism Awareness Forum 2009” hosted in Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong.

It is our great honor and pleasure to meet up with you in this Forum on 2009 February 27 to “pre-celebrate” the World Autism Awareness Day (2009 April 2). As there is an increasing trend of children with autism worldwide, we hope that colleagues and parents from all over China can exchange their experience and views for the first time in Hong Kong.

It is the third time for us to organize a symposium on Autism. The first one had been hosted as a satellite Symposium in Hong Kong for a joint congress of the International Child Neurology Association (ICNA) and Asian-Oceania Child Neurology Association (AOCNA) in Beijing (2002 September). The second one was held as the First World Autism Awareness Day (2008 April 2) in Queen Mary Hospital and the theme was “Early Diagnosis & Early Intervention”.

The theme of this Forum is focused on “Bridging the Gaps” for Autism. We know that there had been many hurdles for academics, researchers, clinical/health care workers, educators, administrators, advocacy groups and parents of Autism to overcome after all these years of deficiencies and frustrations. Raising up a child with Autism is a lifelong journey which often makes the parent or the whole family gradually becoming “autistic”. I have witnessed so many desperate parents who become “autistic” on the way. Through this forum, we hope to provide a platform for exchange and sharing of information concerning Autism in order to strategic ourselves for further “Action for Autism” in the Chinese community to help these ”Desperate Parents”.

Thanks to the advances of digital communication such that I can communicate in an “Autistic Way” over the past 4 weeks with friends through a “chain reaction” and make this forum possible after I knew from our Vice Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, Professor Tsui Lap-Chee that Dr Andy Shih of “Autism Speaks” will come to Hong Kong and he would like to meet up with people active in working for autism locally. My “Autism Dream” become realized when the Chairman of the Society for the Relief of Disabled Children agreed to provide me with the momentum through seed donation from the Parthenon Trust. Dedicated voluntary workers helped me all through to organize this event, and my special thanks to Dr SL Lee, Joyce, Vanessa, Ann, Dora and Wilfred. I have to apologize that the final program was only available only on 2009 February 24 as there are enthusiastic colleagues who called up from China who volunteered to present their work on Autism. We have received overwhelming responses even after the deadline for registration. In order to achieve our “Autism Mission”, we have finally decided to have simultaneous teleconference to accommodate everybody who has a “Heart to Listen and Speak” for Autism.

We have guests from Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Harbin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Macau and local experts to share with us their work and researches in Autism. Moreover, I am deeply grateful to my two Paediatrician-colleague-friends (Dr Yau FT and Dr Chan GCF) who had no hesitancy to open up and share with us their difficulties, frustrations and determination to raise up a child with Autism as a lifelong parent. We have also invited advocacy groups from the community through our co-organizer Dr FT Fan, to share with us their harsh “battle to combat” autism.

We are bringing in most, if not all disciplines who have been actively working for Autistic kids and hope that we can build up an Interdisciplinary Team in the near future to focus our work and share with each other our experience on important issues in Autism. We hope to bring a better future for our autistic children. And, through this academic and social exchange, we are sure that we can “Bridge the Gaps” for all Autistic kids in the Chinese community to link up with the world.

There are still many hurdles concerning autism that we need to overcome; but today I can see the opportunity as there is overwhelming response from all the passionate and dedicated workers for Autism in our Chinese community to attend this forum, and I am sure this will set up a milestone forward for us to unite together to get more solid data about autism in the Chinese community concerning epidemiology, causes, risk factors, early screening tools, standardized diagnostic tools, genetic workup, early intervention, education, vocational training, therapeutic controversies, Complementary & Alternative Medicine, early detection of “Broader Autism Phenotype or BAP” in siblings, public health issues, economic burden etc. There is a dire need to establish an “Autism Registry for Chinese” and then develop collaborative working relationship with other international research teams.

One of the highlights of this forum will be video shows of “Creative Arts” by our local autistic children and from other parts of the world and our self created Asperger “Talent” show and “Pet-lovers show for Autism”.

I wish all of you will enjoy this fully packed program and hope this will be a memorable one for each and everyone.

This Forum is Dedicated to all our Kids and Families with Autism & Asperger Syndrome…

Professor Virginia Wong

Chairperson

Organizing Committee