Dubai Autism Center accredits 24 “autism-friendly” entities in the emirate

The Dubai Autism Center achieved a series of qualitative achievements during the “Year of Community” 2025, including the areas of education, rehabilitation services, community partnership, media awareness, and supportive environments for people of determination.

The most important of these achievements included the launch of the “Nineteenth Annual Autism Awareness Campaign,” as part of the Center’s keenness on its institutional commitment to supporting the country’s strategy for inclusion and empowerment, which aims to promote and support people with the autism spectrum.

The center’s achievements included accrediting 24 “autism-friendly” entities in the Emirate of Dubai, within the “Autism-Friendly Environment” program, which is a project led by the center and represents a qualitative push towards providing more comprehensive work, education and service environments, and the opening of the first “podcast” studio specializing in autism in the Arab world, to provide an audio and knowledge platform directed to people with the autism spectrum, their families, and those interested in community awareness.

The Dubai Autism Center launched the “School for All” campaign to raise awareness among the staff of 1,182 schools, including 673 government schools and 509 private schools in various emirates of the country, with the aim of preparing the school environment to receive children with autism and overcoming educational challenges, and organizing free sessions for early detection and comprehensive evaluation of people with autism and developmental disorders, in order to detect and intervene early and improve the results of education and rehabilitation.

The Center organized the “Paths of Applied Behavior Analysis” conference, within the activities of the “Expo People of Determination 2025” exhibition, to enhance knowledge and specialized exchange in the field of applied behavior analysis (ABA) and its use to serve people with autism. It also issued the book “Managing Behavioral Challenges for Children with Autism,” which provides cognitive and applied tools for families, teachers, and specialists to deal with the behaviors of children with autism, and improve support and interaction mechanisms, in addition to participating in at least 50 weekly sessions to raise awareness of autism through the “Balsam” program. On the “Noor Dubai” channel, as part of an organized media effort to enhance society’s understanding of the autism spectrum.

The Center launched the “Sensory Bag for People with Autism” project, to enable children with autism to participate in social activities, through specially designed sensory tools to overcome sensory obstacles. It also opened the first dental clinic specialized in providing oral health care services for people with autism spectrum disorder in the country in cooperation with the Swiss company “Coraden”, which is located within the center’s facilities, and aims to provide health care services specifically designed to meet the exceptional needs of people of determination with autism.

Mohammed Al Emadi, Director General of the Dubai Autism Center and a member of its Board of Directors, said that these achievements are the culmination of a series of initiatives and events organized by the Center over more than two decades, and in line with the objectives of the “Year of Community 2025,” which constitutes a national call to formulate an integrated vision for a society in which every individual feels that he is an active, participating citizen, and capable of self-fulfillment, regardless of the challenges he may face. In this context, the Dubai Autism Center worked to translate this vision into concrete programs, based on two main axes. They are awareness and environmental preparation.

He added: “Based on our national and humanitarian responsibility at the Dubai Autism Center, we see that true mastery does not come from simply opening doors, but rather by creating paths for every person with autism to walk on with confidence and dignity. Therefore, all the achievements that the Center has achieved during the year 2025 are considered integrated links in the chain of professional work that links research, practice, institutions, and society.”

The Dubai Autism Center, which was established in 2001, is the first Emirati non-profit institution concerned with providing integrated advisory, educational and therapeutic services specialized in the field of autism spectrum disorder.

The center aims to make the Emirate of Dubai a leading center in the world in the field of providing special education programs and specialized rehabilitative therapeutic services approved for people diagnosed with autism.