New Delhi, Nov 17 (IANS): Government officials who have autistic children will now be exempt from routine transfers.

According to an office memorandum of the department of personnel and training Monday, autism would also be included in the disability spectrum as far as the children of government officials are concerned.

An earlier office memorandum of June 6 exempted a government employee, who is also a "care giver of a disabled child", from the routine exercise of transfer or rotational transfer subject to administrative constraints.

The current memorandum includes autism in the disability spectrum which already has blindness or low vision, hearing impairment, locomotor disability or cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, mental retardation, mental illness and multiple disabilities.

"Considering the fact that the autism spectrum disorder child requires constant care giver support and it would be imperative for the government employees to take care of their autism spectrum disorder child on continuous basis, it has been decided to include 'autism' in the term 'disabled'," the memorandum said.