The Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked country surrounded by Bangladesh, India and the Tibetan region of China. It is a country that brought the term Gross National Happiness as a concept by which to measure a country’s progress. In April 2017 it celebrated WAAD by hosting the International Conference on Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders (ANDD2017) in Thimphu.
Shuchona Foundation is a not-for-profit policy advocacy, research, and capacity-building organization specializing in neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) and mental health. It is the culmination of the efforts to coordinate and mainstream policies and programs for mental health and NDD’s that began with the launch of the of the GAPH-Bangladesh in 2011.
Within the last 5 years, thanks to political support and national education, autism awareness in Bangladesh has grown immensely. Due to a lack of funds and resources, providing full comprehensive evidence based services for those in need is not yet possible, but with a continuation of our current progression, it is certainly an attainable goal. Credit for our tremendous success in providing public awareness and understanding of the challenges faced by families with autism is ultimately, thanks to the dedication and resilience of those very families.