- Dubai Autism Center has the largest number of clinical team in the region
- 115 students were enrolled in the DAC school for 2021-2022
- The number of clinical services’ hours increased to 320 hours per month
- More than 363 free consultation sessions have been conducted since April 2021
Dubai Autism Center (DAC) announced the expansion of the scope of its clinical services this year (2022) to accommodate the increasing numbers listed in the appointment booking schedules with the aim of accelerating the pace of the clinical services’ sessions, including comprehensive assessment and intervention sessions within a record time.
Mohammed Al Emadi, Director General of the Dubai Autism Center, said: “On the approach of the National Autism Policy, the Dubai Autism Center continues to achieve its mission in overcoming the obstacles facing individuals with autism and their families, especially in the early intervention stage, which is the most burdensome stage in terms of financial and psychological aspects,”
Al Emadi indicated that the number of students enrolled in the DAC’s school this year reached full capacity (115 students), which, as he described, led to an increase in the demand for clinical services of the center’s clinic.
Al Emadi explained that the DAC management took the initiative to introduce new procedures to facilitate access to these services. The initiative has considered three key factors: firstly, the financial challenges, by contributing to reducing service costs, secondly, the processing time, by accelerating the pace of service process, and thirdly, the technology platforms, by adopting smart digital apps and programs that contribute to delivering services that are more accurate and efficient within flexible and comprehensive procedures.
About the financial challenges, Al Emadi explained that the previous center’s initiative during April 2021 was to provide free consultation services for children suspected of having autism. It was an important turning point that contributed remarkably to encouraging many parents to take the decision for early detection and intervention. The number of free sessions held until December 2021 exceeded 363 sessions.
“Consequently, the Dubai Autism Center came to adopt a new strategy to reduce clinical service fees according to the number of hours required, starting from 5% and up to 15% for those whose conditions require 4 hours or more of individual sessions in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), speech therapy as well as occupational therapy,” Al Emadi said.
“More additional discounts have been approved for siblings (10%), referrals (5%), and another discount for Esaad card holders (20%), which are applicable to all clinical services provided at the center,” he added.
On the processing time factor, Al Emadi confirmed that the pace of booking process and issuing assessment reports takes place in record time, while adhering to the latest globally applied standards for detecting symptoms of autism and providing both comprehensive assessment and early intervention, noting that the number of hours of clinical services has been increased to 320 hours per month.
Al Emadi also indicated that the center’s clinical services team now includes 40 RBTs (Registered Behavior Technicians), in addition to a number of psychologists, BCBAs (Board Certified Behavior Analysts, and BCaBA therapists.
Al-Emadi clarified that the issuance of comprehensive diagnostic assessment reports for autism spectrum disorder in Dubai Autism Center takes only five working days, which is a record time compared to the other centers at the global level.
As for the technology factor, Al Emadi stated that a number of smart digital platforms and programs have been adopted, most notably the “Ynmo” smart app, which aims to improve the quality of services provided to children with autism and monitor the development of their skills. In addition to that, Al Emadi mentioned the enterprise resource planning (ERP) to manage and automate many tasks, office procedures and services and integrate them into one database to providing more accurate and efficient services within flexible and comprehensive procedures.