‘114,000 autistic children affected by quakes’

KAHRAMANMARAŞ

Approximately 114,000 children with autism have been affected by the Feb. 6 earthquakes, an autism early diagnosis and education foundation has stated.

Autistic children are affected four times more than other children by the anxiety, fear, feelings of uncertainty and changes in the living spaces caused by the quakes, said Aylin Sezgin, the head of TOHUM foundation.

“It is estimated that 114,000 autistic children were severely affected by the quake disaster. Considering that each child is a member of a family of four on average, the total number of people reaches to 450,000,” Sezgin explained.

Accordingly, the foundation launched a project to alleviate the difficulties experienced by children with autism in the earthquake zone and to provide a better post-quake period.

As a part of the project, educational games and technology kits were distributed to children.

While many families stated that the level of anxiety and restlessness in their autistic children has increased at the alarming rate since the quake, damage to the rehabilitation centers where children continued their education has also disrupted the process.

It is estimated that approximately 2 million children are diagnosed with autism in Türkiye.