CL roundtable considers autism and the law in Qatar

Public discussion co-sponsored by the Council of Autism Service Providers and A-Sense

Entity: College of Law

Panelists at Autism and the Law: A Path for Qatar

Legal aspects of Qatar’s approach to diagnosing and treating autism was the subject of a recent roundtable discussion organized by Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU) College of Law.

Held November 11 at Qatar Foundation’s (QF) Auditorium, Autism and the Law: A Path for Qatar brought together legal, scientific, medical, and policy experts to consider the country’s existing landscape for supporting individuals with autism. An interdisciplinary and comparative analysis enabled participants to identify shortcomings in Qatar’s autism approaches and propose legal and other reforms to help fill the gaps. Consideration was also given to the increasingly important role Artificial Intelligence and other technologies play in the diagnosis and treatment of the condition.

Opening remarks were delivered by Susan L. Karamanian, Dean, College of Law, who also moderated the panel discussion featuring Lorri Unumb, Chief Executive Officer, The Council of Autism Service Providers (CASP); Dr. Dena Al-Thani, Associate Professor, HBKU’s College of Science and Engineering (CSE); Dr. Barry Solaiman, Assistant Professor, HBKU’s College of Law; and Dr. Hira F. Amin, Assistant Professor, HBKU’s College of Public Policy. Proceedings concluded with questions and answers and further contributions from the audience.

Autism and the Law: A Path for Qatar was co-sponsored by CASP and the Autism Sensing Center of Excellence (A-Sense), the latter a CSE initiative to drive innovative technology enhancement in the field of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) assessment and intervention.

“Our discussion was local in scope yet informed by insights from jurisdictions outside Qatar,” remarked Dean Karamanian. “Ms. Unumb is a leading legal expert on autism in the United States; the audience and other panelists were moved by her inspiring journey of how she ensured that each state in the US enacted legislation, Ryan’s Law named after her son, to have autism diagnosis and treatment covered by health insurance. Her journey resonated with the audience as many have family members and friends with autism. Second, the conversation drew on multi-disciplinary approaches, thanks to the interventions of Professors Solaiman, Al Thani, and Amin. We were delighted to have CASP as a co-sponsor, not to mention A-Sense, an HBKU initiative that we are confident will have a similar impact closer to home.”

The College of Law looks forward to hosting further public discussions in the near future.