To mark the world autism awareness month in April, Autism Connect Organization along with Senses Residential and Day Care for Special Needs, in partnership with MENA Organization for Rare Diseases, has hosted a unique international autism conference in Dubai for parents and professionals. The International Conference for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders – ICAN Dubai 2023, a three-day event took place at JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai from 28th – 30th April 2023.

The purpose of the ICAN conference is to facilitate exchange of ideas and clinical results between professionals to better the care for the people on the Autism Spectrum. At ICAN the newest and the latest development research happening all over the world and all the newer treatments for Autism were discussed.

Over 90 international and regional speakers participated in the conference to share best practices and effective intervention strategies to serve individual diagnosed with autism. Renowned international speaker, Dr. Temple Grandin, an American scientist and animal behaviorist was the keynote speaker of the conference. She is currently a faculty member with Animal Sciences in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State University. Dr. Temple Grandin has a unique ability to understand the animal mind – and she’s convinced her skill is down to her autistic brain. She is known as the woman who thinks like a “COW”.

Families of individuals with autism were part of the conference to share success stories with the participants. 

The scientific program workshop was part of the three-day ICAN event which was designed for smaller groups to have closer interaction with the specialist on a focus area of Autism treatment. Over 14 workshops took place in a day on ten topics including an overview on autism and applied behavior analysis, multi-sensory approaches in speech and language therapy, Neuroactivation Training for Autism to improve academic performance: Cognitive Motor Training etc. 

The inauguration of the conference was done by Dr. Nadia Al Sayegh, founder and director general of Senses Center. 

Dr. Nadia Al Sayegh said, “Although there is a general awareness of autism, we need to increase the understanding and acceptance of people with autism, and provide additional solutions that enable children and adults on the spectrum to live their best lives possible.”

International and local exhibitors participated in the ICAN event, among them was NeuroGen Brain and Spine Institute which is based in India. NeuroGen is not just an organization, but a collective, committed concept, of paving the way to a brighter future, and a life of independence, for individuals with incurable neurological disorders, through the combination of revolutionary regenerative medicine, holistic comprehensive neurorehabilitation and medical intervention.

The specialist team from NeuroGen Institute to Dubai was headed by Dr. Alok Sharma, founder of the NeuroGen. 

At the conference Dr. Sharma presented his published clinical results on the benefits of cell therapy in autism stating that they had a 90 percent success rate with results being better in children below 11 years. He shared his research on which parts of the brain are not functioning optimally in children with autism and mentioned that once these areas are repaired with cell therapy the results of the rehabilitation being given get better. 

In 2014 his institute Neurogen has published the world’s first scientific paper on the safety and efficacy of cell therapy in autism. 33 more papers have been published worldwide from many countries since then.

This conference has provided a unique platform for scientific and medical discussion and the final beneficiaries are the children on the Autism Spectrum.

The three-day event was accredited with upto 50 CME hours from Dubai Health Authority.