This month, Dr. Paul, Helen, and Dan visited centers of excellence in child assessment, autism, and child and adolescent mental health in Riyadh. The purpose was to identify partners for future collaboration, as well as observing first-hand what leading centers are providing here in the Kingdom. 

The FCSC team visited Alfaisal University to learn about their programs in Clinical Psychology, Sensory Integration, Neuroscience, and Speech and Language Pathology. This came just one day after the President and Provost’s visit to Alfaisal University to sign an MOU between the two institutes.  

The team also visited King Saud University and Medical City where they had a tour of the Adult and Child Psychiatry departments. The team at KSU, together with colleagues from King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, and other autism centers in Riyadh, have been instrumental in developing guidelines for diagnosing Autism in the Kingdom. 

Finally, the team visited the Center for Autism at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh. The Center works closely with an inter-agency team to diagnose autism and support children with social communication challenges. They use Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence to teach road safety skills to children with additional needs.