(Pakistan) 350K children with autism; Islamabad will open center; "no one knows the causes"
- The end of childhood
- Dec 22, 2025
- 1 min read
Dec 19, 2025, Pakistan moves to expand autism care with new center in Islamabad
Pakistan has around 350,000 children with autism spectrum disaster, a non-profit says
PM Sharif says the Center of Excellence for Autism in Islamabad will be built in a year
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday performed the groundbreaking of Center of Excellence for Autism at the Rehabilitation Center for Children with Development Disorders in Islamabad, promising to mobilize all resources to benefit children with specialized needs.
According to the non-profit Autism Society of Pakistan (ASP), around 350,000 children in the country have autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn and behave, though there is no reliable official data to corroborate this figure. . . .
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, the prime minister said this Center of Excellence for Autism would be established in one year, adding that it is the collective responsibility all Pakistanis to support children with autism.
“It is the duty of the government to mobilize all available resources for the nation’s special children and enable them to stand on their own feet as productive members of society,” Sharif said. . . .
Autism is usually diagnosed between the ages of 3 and 5. There is no cure and no one knows the causes, but doctors are eager to identify autism as early as possible because therapeutic intervention can reduce its effects at an early age. . . .
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