NEW DELHI: Government employees can now attend to their autistic children without worrying about being displaced on account of routine transfers or rotational transfer exercise.

The department of personnel and training (DoPT), in an order issued on Monday, included 'autism' in the term 'disabled' as defined in a June 6, 2014, order that exempts a government employee, who is also a care-giver of disabled child, from the routine exercise of transfer/rotational transfer, subject to administrative constraints.

“The matter regarding the scope of 'disabled' has been examined in consultation with the department of disability affairs. Considering the fact that the autism spectrum disorder child requires constant caregiver support and it would be imperative for government employees to take care of autism spectrum disorder child on continuous basis, it has been decided to include 'autism” in the term 'disabled', as defined in Para 6 of above-mentioned OM dated 06.06.2014,” said the DoPT order.

Autism is the latest addition to the scope of the term “disabled” that includes blindness or low vision, hearing impairment, locomotor disability or cerebral palsy, leprosy-cured, mental retardation, mental illness and multiple disabilities, for relief under the said rule.

The DoPT on Monday directed all ministries and departments to bring the latest instruction relating to posting of government employees with differently-abled dependents, to the notice of all concerned.

Autism is a lifelong developmental disorder that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people. It also affects how they make sense of the world around them.