GLOUCESTER – Khadijah Mosque and Islamic center in Gloucester, the UK, opened its doors in the weekend to hold a support session for the Peterborough National Autistic Society.

“It’s been a pleasure working with the members of the Khadija mosque,” Nazreen Bibi, branch chair of Peterborough National Autistic Society told Peterborough Today on April 15.

During the event, autistic children and adolescents were welcomed within a fully inclusive environment, raising the profile of disability inclusion within mosques.

“This session will form the foundation of a good working relationship. The feedback from the parents has been extremely positive and it’s a great pleasure to be part of a disability inclusion initiative,” Bibi expressed.

Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by troubles with social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. The disorder’s signs usually get noticed in the first two or three years of a child’s life.

These signs often develop gradually, though some children with autism reach their developmental milestones at a normal pace and then worsen.

This disorder is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Risk factors include certain infections during pregnancy such as rubella as well as valproic acid, alcohol or cocaine use during pregnancy.

Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize; how this occurs is still not well understood.

Early speech or behavioral interventions can help children with autism gain self-care, social and communication skills. Although there is no known cure, there have been cases of children who have recovered from the condition.

Globally, autism is estimated to affect 24.8 million people as of 2015. It occurs four to five times more often in boys than girls.

The initiative of Khadijah Mosque is based upon the teaching of Islamic Shari`ah which orders Muslims to help needy and sick people.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “Make use of medical treatment, for Allah (SWT) didn’t appoint a disease without assigning a remedy for it, with the exception of the disease of old age.”