SMARTER President Malai Hj Abdullah with his daughter Sharifah Suryani, who is helping SMARTER as head of therapist while waiting to continue her PhD.

SMARTER Brunei is holding a support workshop in its effort to bring siblings of autistic individuals together to learn and enhance their supportive roles.

"SMARTER Brunei's vision is to create an autism-friendly society," said Sharifah Suryani bte Malai Haji Abdullah, the assistant head therapist of Sengkurong ASD Centre.

"Such a society would be the epitome of inclusive development and would not require individuals with autism (IWAs) to 'fit in,' but instead, society can work together with IWAs in a fluid, compassionate and compromising relationship."

Sharifah, the daughter of SMARTER Brunei President Malai Hj Abdullah Malai Hj Othman, is helping SMARTER Brunei as assistant head therapist while waiting for her PhD. Having an autistic younger brother, she is dedicated to helping IWAs in Brunei.

"To achieve such a vision means that we must start from the home, she said. SMARTER Brunei is a family support group for family members of IWAs, therefore it is only fitting that we emphasise the roles of other family members, other than the parents of IWAs.

SMARTER Brunei has always included the entire family in its activities, but our upcoming Sibling Support Workshop will further emphasise the importance of other family members in the development of IWAs, their families and the society as a whole.

The July 2 workshop will be followed up with SMARTER's Monthly Communication Adaptation Programme - this month entitled 'SMARTER's Family Holiday Camp' set to be held on July 3 and 4 at Taman Rekreasi Hutan Berakas.

The sibling support workshop will be conducted by Sharifah Suryani bte Malai Haji Abdullah, the assistant head therapist of Sengkurong ASD centre, but first and foremost, an older sister to a 12-year-old IWA.

The workshop will serve as a basis for siblings of IWAs to get to know each other, share experiences, concerns and stories, while at the same time, it will be a platform for siblings of IWAs to establish a support group of their own.

The workshop will also highlight the importance of time and stress management for siblings of IWAs.

During the actual camping activity, siblings of IWAs will be assigned to an IWA other than their own sibling so they can experience what other IWAs are like.

Such activities will raise awareness, compassion, understanding, empathy and support of autism and also of what other family members experience.

While the focus of the sibling support workshop is the siblings, the actual camping activity will involve the entire SMARTER family. It aims to raise awareness and to also expose IWAs and their families to other recreational/adventure activities on top of what SMARTER has organised in previous months.

The camp will start at 3pm on Saturday, July 3, and end at 11am the next day.

According to the president of the society, Malai Hj Abdullah bin Malai Hj Othman, the association will also be holding spiritual workshop starting July to build religious skills for IWAs.

"We hope to do this once we receive donations of digital Quran from Tabung Amanah Islam Brunei (TAIB)," he said.

Courtesy of Azaraimy HH, Borneo Bulletin