The National Autism Resource Centre (NARC) paved another direction for community outreach in an effort to create awareness and acceptance of person with autism. NARC was invited as an exhibitor during the 4th Malaysian Military Medical Conference 2022 with the theme “Enhancing Combat Resilience: Mind, Body, and Soul” which was held on the 13th and 14th September 2022 in Wisma Perwira, Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM), Kuala Lumpur.
Throughout the two-day conference, various plenary sessions, symposiums, information and knowledge sharing forums covering various topics related to mental health were held. This event also provided a platform to explore several sub-sections of military medicine in Malaysia. Among the participants involved included specialists, medical officers, dental specialists and officers, allied health and non-doctors. The event has successfully brought together health practitioners to discuss more broadly the issues of increasing combat resilience with a more holistic approach that focuses on the mind, body and spirit.
During the exhibition, NARC provided free autism screening for children to the conference participants. The screening was conducted by The National Autism Society of Malaysia (NASOM). NARC also promoted the resource centre’s online screening tool – the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT). This tool is a validated developmental screening tool for toddlers between 16 to 30 months of age to assess the development of a child. A score will be automatically calculated based on a set of questionnaires to identify early signs of autism and developmental delays in the child. Based on the scores, if a child shows symptoms of autism, a formal assessment should be followed up by a paediatrician. M-CHAT is now available online at https://narc-app.uitm.edu.my/mchat.
The conference was officiated by the General Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Hj Affendi bin Buang, Chief of Defence Force, Royal Malaysian Air Force. During his visit to NARC booth, Tan Sri emphasized the need of autism screening for adults and more awareness on how to manage adults with autism. Furthermore, Brig Gen (Dr) Mohd Badli bin Mahmud, Chairman of Malaysia Military Medicine Conference 2022, also welcomed NARC’s participation in this event. He saw the need for universities involvement in approaching the autism community, especially in the Malaysian military as well as the Malaysian community as a whole. Professor Dr. Nursuriati Jamil, Chairman of NARC sees this conference as a stepping stone for NARC to establish relationships and collaboration with the Ministry of Defence in approaching the autistic communities among Malaysian Military families. NARC will also participate as an exhibitor in Minggu Kesihatan KEMENTAH 2022 to be held in on the 1st to 3rd of November 2022 at MINDEF Headquarters, Kuala Lumpur.