In an absolute win for responding to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) which affects one in 93 children between the ages of 18 to 24 months in Sri Lanka, ‘Act Early for Autism’ which is a Citizens Development Business Finance PLC (CDB) project, gained a prestigious accolade as the Best Project Sustainability Award 2023. The award was presented at the Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Award 2023 organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, which evaluates corporates on their contribution to People. Planet. Profit.

Having analysed a 2009 study which revealed alarming statistics on ASD in Sri Lanka, CDB initiated Act Early for Autism in collaboration the Sri Lanka Association for Child Development (SLACD) in 2015, which coincided with the company’s 20th anniversary. For over nine years since then, the project has worked on creating widespread awareness about ASD and ensuring social acceptance for children with this disorder. Believing strongly that early detection and intervention is vital to ensure inclusivity in children with ASD, the project has been instrumental in integrating children with ASD into the everyday lives of families and communities, minimising long-term impacts in their growing up and adult years.

The Award recognizes the significant inroads implemented by CDB to educate and inform the public about ASD, fostering a culture of understanding and acceptance in a country where children with mental and physical disabilities are surrounded by silence and non-acceptance and are rarely able to get the much-needed support needed to integrate into society.

From mass media campaigns to establishing intervention centers via the establishment of a Trust Fund, Act Early for Autism has reached communities around the island. Some of the most significant interventions have been the establishment of the outdoor therapeutic play area at the Ampara District Hospital, “Pragathi” – a state of the art intervention center at the Teaching Hospital in Anuradhapura and the “Pragathi” Southern Provincial Autism and Neurodevelopment Interventional Center at the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital.

In addition, outreach programmes were conducted in Pimbura, Ratnapura, Colombo, Anuradhapura, Jaffna and Karapitiya as the first point of contact with doctors, medical officers, public health midwives, other health care professionals, preschool teachers and the general public. To augment these efforts and take the message further, a comprehensive series of bilingual discussions with doctors was conducted on television and radio channels.

Act Early for Autism is an on-going project and continues to reach out and engage communities across the country through outreach programmes which it hopes to conduct in all 25 districts. The Company also remains committed to build awareness about ASD, while introducing globally recognized interventions via Intervention Centers CDB aims to establish in all nine provinces.

Based within a two pronged approach of Net Zero and Socially Conscious which are the twin pillars in CDB’s Sustainability Agenda, Act Early for Autism which is under the Socially Conscious pillar is specifically aligned with the UNSDG3 of ‘Good Health & Wellbeing’.