A Prestigious Health Award from the U.S. to Tohum Autism Foundation

Tohum Autism Foundation and IBM were awarded the winner of the “2019 Untold Global Health Stories Contest” by the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Global Health NOW platform.

This award-winning project by Tohum Autism Foundation, supported by IBM, aims to develop protocols and standards for the early identification and management of autism in early childhood.
Today, 1 in every 59 children is born at risk of autism, and a child is diagnosed with autism every 20 minutes. The only known effective approach for autism today is early diagnosis followed by continuous, intensive, and specialized education.

Funded by the IBM Impact Grant, the project began with IBM consultants and data scientists organizing a design thinking workshop involving key stakeholders such as families, family physicians, and psychologists. After analyzing the data collected, they offered recommendations for more effective approaches to identify this behavioral condition. They also provided training to help others understand how to better address this issue.

The success of the project and the recognition of Tohum Autism Foundation and IBM were announced during the award ceremony of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH), held on March 9 in Chicago, as part of the Global Health Conference 2019.

The Symptoms of Autism Fall Under Two Main Categories:

“Social Communication and Interaction Challenges” and “Repetitive/Obsessive Behaviors and Restricted Interests or Activities.”
Some of the key signs of autism include:

• Avoidance of eye contact

• Fixation on a single spot

• Lack of response when their name is called

• Repetitive body movements

• Walking on tiptoes

• Obsessive behaviors

• Unusual fascination with spinning objects

If families observe behaviors or symptoms in their children that differ from those of their peers, they should immediately consult a child and adolescent psychiatrist without delay.