The Autism Awareness Community Project has been a component of the academic year at Tishk International University (TIU)’s Faculty of Pharmacy for the past seven years. In April 2025, a special event was arranged to honor World Autism Awareness Day, as part of this ongoing effort. This event was a key component of the Autism Care and Awareness Community Service Project, which aims to enhance understanding and help for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The event was a huge success, thanks to the Faculty of Pharmacy’s Dean of Students Representative’s leadership. The Autism Community Service Project is led by a team formed at the start of each academic year. The staff and students on this team are all dedicated to making a difference in the lives of autistic people. They meet early in the year to plan out the project’s activities, discuss their goals, and develop ideas. On February 26, 2025, one of the year’s major events was a food fundraising. This event brought together students, teachers, and members of the community to promote awareness of autism. The Faculty of Pharmacy’s collaboration and hard work resulted in successful fundraising efforts. In April, a delegation from the Faculty of Pharmacy’s Administrative Office visited Erbil’s Autism Centre to observe how the trained and recovered youngsters were doing and to evaluate what else the center could do to assist.
As a community outreach initiative, the Pharmacy Faculty was delighted to offer a one-of-a-kind event on April 24th, 2025, to commemorate Autism Awareness Day. The distinguished professors collaborated on this effort to support those with special needs and give back to the community. The money raised was used with care to purchase critical supplies and kind gifts for the students at the Autism Centre. In addition to giving them with essential tools, we wanted to show our concern for their well-being and appropriate position in society by being pleasant and supportive.
To celebrate, students and teachers visited the Autism Centre to spend quality time with the children and engage in substantial discussions with them. The visit was filled with love and joy because we participated in a variety of fun, interactive activities designed to make people laugh and feel better connected. Face painting was a popular activity among children, and it allowed them to let their imaginations run wild. Everyone involved had a genuinely touching experience throughout the event. It highlighted the importance of being thoughtful, empathic, and active in one’s community. We plan to continue these outreach activities in the future, but our primary purpose for this one was to establish links between our personnel and the autistic community.
Dr. Abdulsamad Salahuddin, Dean of the faculty of pharmacy, and Dr. Mohammed Javed Naim, head of the pharmacy department, helped make this project possible with continuous support from the University.
