ROUNDING UP 2016

The first post on this blog was put up on December 31, 2013. Every year since then, I always put up an anniversary post on December 31. Last year, in my anniversary post, I wrote that it’s not too late to start, especially for parents with teenage or adult children on the spectrum seeking for therapy or support for their children.

My Anniversary Look 😀

For me, I started the year working with a 21 year old, and I was reminded that there are adults with autism, and the children right now will become adults. In February, I attended a training by Patrick Speech and Languages Centre on Adulthood and Autism, where I had the opportunity to meet a woman whose son had joined Patrick Speech at 35, and was making tremendous progress, to the surprise and pleasure of everyone.

In April, Mr Isaac Osae-Brown featured on the blog, writing on Transition in Autism, and I learnt a lot on preparing our teenagers and adulthood for the work place. You can read the posts here.

I spent the rest of the year observing and learning about teenagers and adults on the spectrum. The icing on the cake for me was watching the presentations by the adults at Patrick Speech, at the last Talents in Autism Show. It was an emotional time for me, as I watched them sing, play the keyboard, and danced. There was a 25 year old who could say the day of the week that any date in the past fell on, or any date in history will fall on. He is so good with dates, such that he has been taught to file documents according to dates, using it as a strength in building office skills. This young man can remember the date he handled any document, or when a meeting held.

At the Talents in Autism Show, there were other presentations that touched me; one girl painted a beautiful work of art on stage, there was a presentation by the early intervention class that has children that are about 3 and 4 years old, dance presentations by different classes, and there was a beautiful rendition of songs by Ebuka and friends while Ebuka (a ten year old on the spectrum) played the keyboard.

Did I mention that I saw an artwork by the guy that started therapy at 35, who is now 37? I saw his artwork, and it was beautiful. I also met an 18 year old, who is good with numbers, and can fix any puzzle no matter how hard (he won’t stop until he is done).

Meeting all these people reminds me that it’s never too late to start. It is better to start, even when it is late, than to assume that it is late and give up. As I say this about working with people on the spectrum, I also say this about dreams.

Do you have any dream in your heart, and you think time has passed, as we start a new year, it is a good time to start planning how to start work on that dream. It may be harder to start now, but starting brings hope. And if you don’t give up, who knows how well it will do, or how far you will go.

Anyway, Happy Anniversary to us here at Autism Gist with Adelola. It’s been 3 years of serving the autism community in Nigeria, and we look forward to more years. Don’t forget to follow our Thursday throwbacks, by following @adelolaonautism on Twitter.

Have a beautiful and wonderful 2017! Happy New Year in advance.

AUTISM IN A MOVIE

The first time I heard of autism was in a movie, Journey of the Heart; a movie based on the true story of Tony Deblois. Tony Deblois is visually impaired and has autism, but he has savant skills, he has been playing the piano since the age of 2, and can play 19 more instruments.

Years later, I have watched movies like My Name is Khan, Rain Man, and Silver lining by Patrick Speech and Languages Centre. The movie, Joyful Noise that has a character with Aspergers’ syndrome. I have also seen short stories on YouTube such as The Maid and Emere (both recorded here in Nigeria). But none of those movies prepared me for the movie I watched recently, THE ACCOUNTANT.

The Accountant

The Accountant tells the story of a man who had been diagnosed as a boy, as having high functioning autism, who is extremely good with numbers, and of course grows up to become an accountant. He talks to a lady on the phone, who we know simply as the voice, and at the end it is revealed that the voice is a lady who is on the autism spectrum, nonverbal, and uses a computer to communicate.

Although the movie creates autism awareness, I like it because it is very entertaining. Personally, I am a fan of action movies, and Ben Affleck and Anna Kendrick are actors I like to see in any movie, any time, any day. For these reasons alone, I would have just been excited about seeing the movie, but the way autism is displayed as a spectrum in the movie; showing different characters, from high functioning autism to severe autism, nailed it for me. I love the fact that the movie shows the challenges parents face raising their child on the spectrum. It also expresses the issue of broken homes, one parent leaving the other because they think they cannot cope with raising a child with special needs. For these reasons, I have not only crowned The Accountant as my favourite 2016 movie, but also my favourite autism movie ever.

As I said earlier, I like the fact that the movie shows autism as a spectrum, without focusing too much on that information. One myth that I am faced with as an autism consultant is that children with autism are geniuses. Although I have worked with some people on the spectrum who are geniuses, I have worked with others that cannot be referred to as geniuses. I have met individuals with autism who have savant skills, but many of those that I have met don’t have. But one thing has been consistent, especially with early intervention, with therapy I have seen these children learn skills that help them with communication (not necessarily speech), behaviour, and social skills. I have seen children that could not hold a pencil writing, and enjoying it. I have seen children who communicated their needs only by crying, or holding an adult’s hand to the need, learn to communicate with speech, pictures, sign language, or devices. I have seen children who would injure themselves because they were angry, find appropriate ways to communicate their anger and deal with it. I have seen some children learn to make friends, go shopping with the family, and picked up many more skills.

The beauty of the first time a child blows a candle in my class; touches the right picture; says the first word; gestures that he wants to use the toilet; identifies a number or a letter; matches the right picture, etc. It is not just about the first time, but the step that leads to progress, independence, and a more successful childhood and adulthood.

I like the fact that The Accountant shows us a child that grew up into Christian Wolff, the Maths genius and accountant, and another child who grew up into Justine, a lady that has learnt to use a device to communicate. It’s wonderful to note that although they have different strengths, Christian Wolff’s being more visible, Justine shows that she is intelligent and is of great help to Christian and many other people.

Have you watched The Accountant? You should watch it if you have not. It entertains you, and teaches you about autism.

CAN A SPECIAL DIET WORK FOR YOUR CHILD?

I remember hearing about diet for children with autism at the Wow Divas Autism Awareness Seminar in 2011. Since that time, I have tried to read up on the benefits of diet for people on the spectrum.

In 2012 I read a book, Facing Autism by Lynn M. Hamilton; the author talked about how the GFCF (Gluten Free, Casein Free) diet and supplements helped her son, among other things (You need to read that book).

Cover Page for the book, Facing Autism

Recently, I met a nutritionist, Ijeoma Ugwu. Talking with her, I appreciated more, the effect on diet for people on the spectrum.

For many years, there has been a debate, if children on the autism spectrum need to be on a diet. Why bother suffering a child and restricting diet? You tell parents not to give sugar to the child, and they will say they pitied the child and gave the child juice, sweet, biscuit, cakes etc. For some parents, it’s the thought of segregating the child that makes a special diet a no-go area for them. Many children are picky eaters, so what happens when the only thing the child can handle is what the nutritionists say are bad? I know children that eat only rice, nothing else; what can the parents do?

From my interaction with Mrs. Ugwu, and some parents who have taken the diet route, children whose diets have been tailored to meet their needs have shown a lot of progress in speech, and behaviour. She said that nutrition can help to address hyperactivity, poor gross and fine motor skills, and seizures. According to Mrs. Ugwu, nutrition affects symptoms from the cellular level. For example, hyperactivity can be a result of yeast overgrowth, and that can be addressed through proper diet. Some children show poor gross motor skills, so they may have challenge in chewing food, holding pencil, or they get tired easily. This may be as a result of Mitochondria dysfunction, and this can be addressed through proper diet.

As a parent of a child on the spectrum, I am sure that you have heard about diet, but you may not have considered it before now. A mother told me recently that the doctor that diagnosed her son said that they should stop giving him sugar, but somehow she and her husband still give him sugar. Another father said that the autism centre that the son attends told him to stop giving him sugar, but the boy was taking a soft drink as he told me. I guess many parents don’t bother with diet because they don’t know how much effect it will have on their child.

Although children with autism respond to different treatments differently, there have been so many testimonies of children responding better to therapy, as their diet is changed. Last year, a child I worked with showed huge progress, and paid better attention during therapy after her parents agreed to stop sugar. Although she was still a bit hyperactive, she learnt to be calm while in class or in her one-on-one sessions, and that made therapy more fun and effective. But somehow she started “snatching” her sister’s drinks, and the behaviour just changed.

Many parents can testify that their children get more hyperactive or aggressive after they eat a particular meal. It is therefore important that parents begin to consider the option of removing food that may not be good, and introducing food that is good to the child’s diet.

If I have not said it before, let me say it now, sugar is not good for your child. Giving the child sugar is not giving the child a taste of the good life, it is harming that child. The nutritionist is the one that can tell you exactly what your child should eat or not, but I know that fruits and vegetables are good. Mrs. Ugwu said that the greener the vegetables, the better. Turmeric, garlic, onions are better options than seasoning cubes for cooking. It is better to use your chicken or meat stock to season your food than the processed seasoning cubes (maggi in Nigerian language).

I don’t know if my post has convinced you to consider changing your child’s diet, at least I hope it encourages you to speak to a nutritionist. I’m sure Mrs. Ugwu will not mind you sending an email, and I believe that she will respond. You can reach her on brainfood.gut@yahoo.com.

Have a beautiful December.

IN OTHER NEWS: COULD YOUR CHILD'S LEARNING BE DISTURBED BY DYSLEXIA

#LongPostAlert#

This is my second “In Other News” post. I promised to be a voice for other children with special needs, and this time it’s for children with Dyslexia.

I watched “Like Stars on Earth” an Indian movie in 2011, and it kinda brought Dyslexia home for me. I had read an article in a Newspaper in 2009, about a Nobel Prize winner who had Dyslexia.

Carol Greider

Carol Greider had won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Medicine with 2 other people. They had discovered Telomerase, an enzyme that plays an important role in the division of cells, and which has a real potential to fight cancer and age-related diseases. The Nobel Prize was not her first award; she had won The Albert Lasker Award in 2006, an award for works in sciences.

Who would have thought that a lady with this much accolade struggled through elementary school because she had a disorder that made reading and speaking difficult? Spelling words, sounding letters, putting letter sounds together to form words were a challenge for her. She had challenges with speaking; sometimes the wrong words will come out of her mouth while she was thinking of another word.  Carol Greider had Dyslexia just like that little boy in Like Stars on Earth.

Dyslexia is a type of learning disorder that affects reading, spelling, writing, and sometimes speaking. Children with dyslexia may be able to understand instructions that are verbal, and have difficulty with written information. The child may find it easy answering questions orally, but may not be able to write the answers on paper. They may read and write slowly, write letters the wrong way (e.g confuse “b” for “d”), spell poorly, confuse the order of letters in words. Some children with dyslexia see the words moving on the book (at least they say so). Dyslexia does not only affect the child in writing, reading or spelling; many people with dyslexia struggle with planning and organization, have difficulty with sequence of direction. I remember that the little boy in the movie could not throw ball in a particular direction.

Dyslexia usually becomes obvious when the child starts school and starts writing, about age 5, but it can be noticed earlier in pre-school children. Just like autism, a toddler with dyslexia can have delayed speech (reasons you cannot assume that every child that talks late has autism). These children may have difficulty pronouncing long words, or may jumble up words- for example saying “beddy tear” instead of “Teddy bear”; may not understand rhyming words like “sit” and “hit” especially in Nursery rhymes; learning alphabets can be a challenge for the child.

Just like autism, dyslexia is a lifelong disorder, so the child does not outgrow it. Having a child with these difficulties can be disturbing for a parent, or teaching such a child. Learning disabilities cannot be beaten out of a child; you cannot wait it out and expect learning to get easier. Some people assume that comparing the child to other children will motivate the child to be better, rather it will make the child rebellious. As a parent, you therefore cannot leave your child’s condition to chance.

The first way to help your child is by speaking to the school if they have a Special Education Needs (SEN) Department. In Nigeria, not all schools have a SEN department, so you may have to get the help of a Dyslexia professional. But that is not all; like I always say, the bulk of the work lies on the parents. You have to work to help your child;

-         Spend time reading to your child. This will build the child’s interest in books and improve vocabulary and listening skills.

-         Read books together with your child. You can discuss the book, to improve comprehension.

-         Don’t get bored reading the same book to your child “a thousand times” (that’s just figurative) if he likes it, it will reinforce his understanding and get more familiar with the written text.

-         Encourage your child to read alone so he can get more independent and fluent.

-         Reward your child’s progress in reading, writing, spelling, speaking. Make learning fun, as it is already harder than it should be for the child.

-         As the child grows older, you can introduce the use of computers, as it makes spelling easier; there is usually the spell checker. Computers also usually have text-to-speech apps, helping your child maximize his oral skills.

-         Remember to work directly with the professional that is supporting your child. It is all about team-work.

Carol Greider is not the only dyslexic person that has succeeded in her career of choice; Whoopi Goldberg, the actress has dyslexia; Steven Speilberg, the guy that directed many movies including Transformers is said to be dyslexic; Richard Branson of the Virgin Group (you know Virgin Airways na); Anderson Cooper, a News anchor on CNN is said to be dyslexic. The list includes Tom Cruise, Leonardo Da Vinci, Patrick Dempsey, and Jennifer Aniston. On Wikipedia alone, there are so many people and what they do.

A Dyslexia suspicion and diagnosis is not the end of the world. With your support, your child can be successful.

I wish you all the best, and Happy Dyslexia Awareness Week.

Please share this post to create awareness, you don’t know the child or parent you may be helping and giving hope to. Thank you.

YESTERDAY WAS WORLD TEACHERS DAY

I really wanted to post something yesterday; it was a day celebrating teachers and as a teacher I wanted to celebrate myself. First of all, I studied Education in the University, and I have spent the last 6 years actively teaching children with special needs, training autism professionals, and teaching parents how to help their children with autism. Why should I not be excited about World Teachers Day?

But somehow, I did not get near my laptop until night time. It was such an active day for me, as I had an opportunity to attend an event for teachers.

October 5 2016 did not just give me a reason to celebrate, it raised questions in my heart. How far have we come in building and equipping children with autism and other special needs conditions? How many teachers can work with these children? How many people are willing to work with them? How available and affordable are trainings in Nigeria for  people interested in working with these children? (I know how much I have spent on getting trained. And there's still so much to spend). What does the future hold for the person interested in teaching these children, either in a mainstream school or in a special school?

Yesterday, I also met a Disability Advocate, the founder of Benola (a Cerebral Palsy Initiative), AVM Femi Gbadebo. Yesterday was also World Cerebral Palsy Day, so talking about CP in relations to Education also raised concerns on how can we get people who are first of all willing to teach children with CP and other disorders?

I cannot imagine where my life would be now if there were no teachers. I cannot remember the teachers that taught me in Nursery class, and I remember faintly those that taught me in Early Primary. I think the only ones I remember from Primary School are the people that taught me from Primary 3 upwards, but I am so sure that I would not be where I am today if all those people did not teach me. How would my life have turned out if nobody was willing to work in a school?

Maybe I will not feel like I was missing anything, but I definitely will not be where I an today; and I am grateful for where I am today.

What is the essence of my long speech? (You ask). First of all I celebrate teachers that are giving their time to train children with special needs. Secondly, I hope that celebrating World Teachers Day will not just be about celebrating the people that taught us, but also encourage people to show interest in the education of the next generation. The next generation includes children with special needs; autism, Down syndrome, Cerebral palsy, visual impairment, hearing impairment, intellectual disability, and many more. I pray that more people will become willing to teach these children with special needs in Nigeria.

Although this is belated, allow me to say Happy Belated Teachers Day to all teachers that work with children with special needs and all who will be inspired by our work to get involved and join us in teaching these wonderful children.

SPECIAL NEEDS TRAINING NEAR YOU

Sometime in May I joined a group of people on a walk to create special needs awareness in Ikorodu. I wrote here on the blog about that walk, which was organized by Pison Therapy Center, Ikorodu.

People walking to create special needs awareness

I mentioned on the blog that the walk was the first of many programs that they have planned for creating special needs awareness and solutions for families with children with special needs. On Saturday September 3, they will be hosting another event; this time it is a training.

Explaining autism and other special needs disorders to someone on the street

Pison Therapy Center is bringing to Ikorodu, seasoned professionals in autism therapy and support, to train parents, teachers, caregivers, health personnel, and other interested persons on helping children with autism and other disorders. The center caters for children with neuro-biological disorders like Autism, Down syndrome, Cerebral palsy, Hydrocephaly, Learning disabilities and other related disorders, so the training will cover aspects that concern training and raising children with such disorders. There will be training on behaviour management and building communication skill in children with these special needs. At the training, you will learn the purpose of unpleasant or maladaptive behaviours, and what to do to stop or redirect them. You will also learn how to develop expressive communication skills in a child with speech limitations.

Special needs awareness

Do you live in Ikorodu? Even if you don’t, it does not matter, you can still join us and learn. Join us on Saturday September 3, at Block 6, Flat 8, Jubilee Estate, Ikorodu by 10am for this training.

I will be there. Will you be there?

MENTAL HEALTH: AUTISM AND ANXIETY

May is Mental Health Month! It is very important to consider the mental health of individuals on the autism spectrum. For this reason, I decided to learn about anxiety as it relates to the mental health of individuals with autism.

Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome

Just as neurotypical people have anxiety disorders, some children and adults with autism have anxiety disorders as well

Anxiety disorder can present as social phobia, separation anxiety, panic attacks, excessive worry/rumination, obsessive compulsive disorder or a phobia such as extreme fear of spiders or loud noise etc.

Symptoms may include difficulty concentrating, thinking constantly about the worst outcome, difficulty sleeping and becoming preoccupied with or obsessive about one subject or object. Physical symptoms may include excessive thirst, stomach upsets, pounding heart, headaches and dizziness.

They say about 30 percent of people living with autism have anxiety disorders. Unlike regular people, because of limitations in communication, people with autism may not be able to say that they have anxiety disorders; some may not identify the feelings as anxiety, but there are ways to recognize anxiety in people with autism, whether they can say it or not.

As a parent, you are expected to know your child well, so you should notice if there’s an increase in the expression of challenging behaviours. There may be an increase in meltdowns or tantrums; ritualistic behaviours like arranging toys in a line; stimming behaviours such as flapping, spinning, rocking; insist on routine and sameness; preferring to stay alone more than before; self-injury behaviour such as hand biting, head banging, or pinching. Some individuals with autism may become more aggressive because of anxiety disorder. Another possible symptom of anxiety disorder may be loss of sleep; so if your child is losing sleep for reasons you cannot explain, it may be a symptom of anxiety disorder.

Anxiety in people with autism is treated the same way as in regular people. Although medications can be given for anxiety, the more acceptable form of treatment is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). If you as a parent suspect that your child may have anxiety disorder, you need to speak to a psychiatrist. Do not feel embarrassed to see a psychiatrist about your child’s needs, you are getting the help that is needed.

Alongside whatever treatment the psychiatrist may give to the child for anxiety, parents need to recognize that they have a role to play in helping their child overcome the fears and other effects of anxiety. Encourage your child to be brave and overcome his/her fears by rewarding any effort at being brave, so when the child does something he/she is afraid of, reward that child and don’t just ignore it, or acknowledge it as “one of those things”. It is also important to discuss the fears of the child; you can develop social stories to teach the child how to address the fear. As a parent, you know your child more than anybody else, it will therefore be easier for you to recognize the things or situations that trigger anxiety in your child. Recognizing these triggers will help you work with your child to address anxiety.

Like every symptom or comorbidity you deal with in your child with autism, dealing with anxiety will require patience and consistence. Do not give up; you need to be strong because your child depends on your strength. Work with the psychiatrist, and know that with your support it will only get better.

MENTAL HEALTH: AUTISM AND ANXIETY

May is Mental Health Month! It is very important to consider the mental health of individuals on the autism spectrum. For this reason, I decided to learn about anxiety as it relates to the mental health of individuals with autism.

Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome

Just as neurotypical people have anxiety disorders, some children and adults with autism have anxiety disorders as well

Anxiety disorder can present as social phobia, separation anxiety, panic attacks, excessive worry/rumination, obsessive compulsive disorder or a phobia such as extreme fear of spiders or loud noise etc.

Symptoms may include difficulty concentrating, thinking constantly about the worst outcome, difficulty sleeping and becoming preoccupied with or obsessive about one subject or object. Physical symptoms may include excessive thirst, stomach upsets, pounding heart, headaches and dizziness.

They say about 30 percent of people living with autism have anxiety disorders. Unlike regular people, because of limitations in communication, people with autism may not be able to say that they have anxiety disorders; some may not identify the feelings as anxiety, but there are ways to recognize anxiety in people with autism, whether they can say it or not.

As a parent, you are expected to know your child well, so you should notice if there’s an increase in the expression of challenging behaviours. There may be an increase in meltdowns or tantrums; ritualistic behaviours like arranging toys in a line; stimming behaviours such as flapping, spinning, rocking; insist on routine and sameness; preferring to stay alone more than before; self-injury behaviour such as hand biting, head banging, or pinching. Some individuals with autism may become more aggressive because of anxiety disorder. Another possible symptom of anxiety disorder may be loss of sleep; so if your child is losing sleep for reasons you cannot explain, it may be a symptom of anxiety disorder.

Anxiety in people with autism is treated the way as in regular people. Although medications can be given for anxiety, the more acceptable form of treatment is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). If you as a parent suspect that your child may have anxiety disorder, you need to speak to a psychiatrist. Do not feel embarrassed to see a psychiatrist about your child’s needs, you are getting the help that is needed.

Alongside whatever treatment the psychiatrist may give to the child for anxiety, parents need to recognize that they have a role to play in helping their child overcome the fears and other effects of anxiety. Encourage your child to be brave and overcome his/her fears by rewarding any effort at being brave, so when the child does something he/she is afraid of, reward that child and don’t just ignore it, or acknowledge it as “one of those things”. It is also important to discuss the fears of the child; you can develop social stories to teach the child how to address the fear. As a parent, you know your child more than anybody else, it will therefore be easier for you to recognize the things or situations that trigger anxiety in your child. Recognizing these triggers will help you work with your child to address anxiety.

Like every symptom or comorbidity you deal with in your child with autism, dealing with anxiety will require patience and consistence. Do not give up; you need to be strong because your child depends on your strength. Work with the psychiatrist, and know that with your support it will only get better.

Creating Awareness in Ikorodu!!!

I am looking forward to May 30!!!  I know it’s a holiday, but that is not why I look forward to it. I don’t look forward to the day because I can wake up late and forget about Lagos traffic, not at all. I look forward to joining Pison Therapy Center and Patrick Speech and Language Center, for Special Needs awareness in Ikorodu on May 30, 2016.

                                     

                                                                  

Pison Therapy Center is a special center in Ikorodu, established to meet the needs of children with neuro-biological disorders like autism, Down syndrome, Cerebral palsy, Hydrocephaly, Learning disabilities and other related disorders in that environment. At that time it was established, there were no centers in Ikorodu that provided such service, so people with these children put them in special schools that were far away from Ikorodu, which made educating their children with special needs cumbersome. Because of the stress involved, some parents just kept their children at home, or put them in regular schools that are not equipped to meet the need of the children. Since 2012, Pison Therapy Center has been in Ikorodu to help children with special needs and their families.

                                                  

Patrick Speech and Languages Center on the other hand is a center for people living with autism and related disorders. Situated in Ikeja GRA, the center provides therapy and support for children and adults. Patricks has been on the forefront of autism awareness in Nigeria, and training of professionals that provide special education for people with autism.

                                         

Patrick Speech and Languages Center creating autism awareness

On May 30, Pison Therapy Centre is organizing a walk in partnership with Patrick Speech and Languages Center, themed Hope Alive. The purpose of the program is to create awareness about special needs around Ikorodu. Many people see these children and they do not understand the challenges, they assume that the child is spoilt or untrained. This program will help to educate the community, and religious organizations about these disorders, and how they can help create an inclusive society for these people with special needs.

I will be joining them for the walk, and I hope you can join us too. The road show will start from Ojubode in Ikorodu. Everybody will converge at Beats Pharmacy at Ojubode by 7am, from where we will move to Ojogbe to Ota-ona, and back to Ojubode.

This program is the first of many programs that Pison Therapy Center will hold in Ikorodu to create awareness about special needs and finding help for children with special needs.

I look forward to being there and seeing you.

I Love Success Stories

I enter the class, and my non-verbal pupil with autism comes to me and signs that she wants to eat. It's not yet break time, so I say "no". She smiles, hugs me, and with the smile still on her face, she signs "food" again. And I say "no" again.

We go through the smile, hug, sign food, and no two more times, but she doesn't give up. She doesn't lose her smile throughout, she knows it has to work.

Looking at that beautiful smile, I ring an imaginary bell and say "It's break time!"

Experiences like this make my job worthwhile, because I remember when this little girl will throw tantrums if she wanted anything. Imagine a little girl crying, screaming, throwing herself on the floor and biting herself, and everybody else running helter-skelter trying to guess what she wanted. What a life that was.

One year of therapy, learning support, behaviour modification, with her communication skill improving, the tantrums have drastically reduced, she is happy, and everybody is happy; her classmates love her, she does not disturb their class anymore.

This is why we work. This is why we create autism awareness. Different children will respond to therapy differently, don’t forget that autism is a spectrum, but at least knowing and understanding what is wrong with a child helps the parents to find help for their child. And with therapy, the child stands a chance at living a successful life.

Social media is full of stories and videos of people with autism with savant skills, doing awesome things, having a good life. Hardly do we see the struggles the individuals on the spectrum, their parents, siblings, therapists and teachers face.

I am always happy to read success stories; how a child who could not perform a task has mastered it, how therapy is helping a child live a better life, how a child is learning to communicate with speech or an alternative method, how an adult on the spectrum has gotten a job and he is able to do it well because he was not left to himself as a child… These stories are my everyday life. I don’t think that there is anything more fulfilling than seeing a child you work with picking up functional skills, responding better to therapy.

We can only have these success stories when parents decide that they will not hide their children with autism, when they find help for these children. We can only have these success stories if more people are willing to commit their time to getting trained and providing support and therapy for children and adults on the autism spectrum. We can only have these success stories when the society accepts people with autism as part of them and give them the opportunity to be themselves while we work with them to become better people. With more awareness comes more acceptance and support.

April was autism awareness month, and there was a lot of awareness activities physically and through the media. But autism awareness does not end in April. Autism support does not end in April; autism acceptance does not end in April.

Thank you everyone that has supported Autism Awareness in this month. I really want to thank the father who wrote about his son's autism diagnosis, Mr Isaac Osae-Brown, Farouk Hassan, and Godfrey Orji for their contribution to the blog this month. I specially want to thank those who contributed by sharing articles from this blog; thank you for playing your part in this autism awareness. Let us continue in May, in June… all the way to December, and then April next year.

Thank you. 

WELCOME TO HOLLAND by Emily Perl Kingsley

This article explains the heart of a parent with a child on the autism spectrum; the realization that your dreams for child has been shattered. The beauty of the poem though is not in how light it makes the situation seem, or in how beautiful it paints it, but in the hope it gives at the end.

Nobody plans to have a child with autism, but a parent can stay in depression or misery, or can choose to be strong and make the most out of the situation; choose to see the beauty in their child and build new dreams.

                                                                       

"I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland"

(c)1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved

WHY AUTISM? by Godfrey Orji

Why autism?

This has become the most frequently asked question since I started The Autism Support Circle Initiative (TASCI) in October 2014. Starting off, our goals were simple; raise adequate awareness about autism in Nigeria and create better care patterns for persons on the spectrum. 

                                                         

                                                                             

We started off with an online awareness campaign – Different Types of Same to raise awareness through storytelling. The idea was to curate stories that will help people understand autism which ours truly, Adelola, was part of. A few blog posts, education through social media and an awareness document was enough to reach over 4000 people, but we had to do more.

Fast forward to July 2015. I had just finished attending the GTBank’s Annual Autism Conference in Lagos and I concluded we needed to do something similar in the eastern part of Nigeria. As Lead Volunteer for TASCI, I had drowned myself in articles, journals, posts, anything at all I could find on autism. I started making notes of possible awareness events that could work here in the South East; precisely on the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) campus.

In between countless jots, endless research and the drive for social good, we settled for four events – a radio talk, an awareness breakfast, a bake sale and a discussion session with Public Health students. Our theme for this year’s autism awareness month was Let’s Talk Autism. The reason for this theme was that we didn’t just want to tell people what we knew or didn’t know about autism; we wanted to hear what they thought about autism, what fascinated them about autism, then have a chit chat about roles we could all play.

The questions from the host of my five minutes radio talk on Zanders 105.7FM Owerri were enough to give a first time hearer of the word ‘autism’ a clear view of what it was. I was able to explain the condition, stating the red flags and how therapy helps. You can listen here bit.ly/1pfRtct.

                                                          

While this was ongoing, we were having an open screening of ‘Silver Lining’ at our breakfast event at FUTO’s hostel area. I wouldn’t forget what one of the attendees said to me when I joined in after my radio show. In her words, what is most fascinating about autism is how someone can be ‘so big physically, yet so small mentally’. While trying to explain a few things to her, I asked; are they really small mentally or you don’t yet fully understand them.

Given the sheer enthusiasm to learn more, we had an unplanned event later that evening. Over hot cups of Lipton tea that cool evening, I felt the true strength of a support circle. We talked about allergies, behaviours related to autism, diagnosis, management of autism, cure and so much more. During our discussion, someone asked if a child could pick up autistic behaviour by association i.e can having an autistic parent or sibling lead to a child developing autism? (I still have to do more research on this). To help spread the word, we handed out our Understanding Autism leaflets to everyone present.

                                                               

On Monday, 4^th April, 2016, we had the first ever bake sale in FUTO - cake, juice, excitement and awe-tism. As we interacted and sold cakes to students, we also handed out Global Goals 4 and 10 stickers to show the goals we support. By the end of the event, we had raised enough awareness to earn us a free publication on the university’s Lumen newsprint for the month of April, with a reach of over 3500 students.

                                                         

    

                                                

To round up our awareness week programme, I had a Let’s Talk Autism session with students from Public Health department at FUTO. Autism has often been described as a public health issue and we felt it will be right to take our awareness activities to ‘health stakeholders’ among the student community.

                                                               

A major point of our discussion was the improvement of post-natal care to increase early detection of autism and a better prognosis for persons on the spectrum. What is post-natal care like in Nigeria? How can we make it better? Can we start educating health workers on how to use the M-CHAT to screen children during post-natal care? This were some of the discussions we had. And of course, the age long question of autism and Down syndrome came up.

                                                           

    

To introduce our next project focused on building a real care community for people on the spectrum, we spoke about roles they as (to-be) health practitioners can play to ensure we don’t just stop at awareness. We concluded that our best shot is having more caregivers and special educators. There is a need to get more people interested in special education as a career path. We need to have more caregivers too.


                                                                   

To this end, our goal is simple. Over the next few months, we will start programmes that help interested persons pickup simple caregiving skills, help them understand child psychology better; and in the long run become certified caregivers and special educators.

So why autism really?

We believe in a future where everyone is treated fairly and equally, and has access to quality education that meets their specific needs.

Personally, I know that people on the spectrum are at a huge disadvantage just by being themselves and this is my contribution to creating a better world for them.

So if you feel we are up to something great at TASCI, join our movement to create a true care community for persons on the spectrum.

We tweet at @theautism_sci, and give updates via Facebook on facebook.com/tascinitiative.

We also want to know what fascinates you about autism, so send us a mail via theautism.sci@gmail.com let’s talk autism.

WORKING WITH CHILDREN WITH AUTISM: FAROUK HASSAN

Farouk Hassan is one of the few young people I have met, working with children with autism, with so much passion. I told him once that I still owe him a date, because he is such an inspiration.

In celebrating this year’s autism month, I asked Farouk to write about his experience.


                                                           

“Working with children with exceptional needs, particularly children with autism has been one of the most exciting learning experiences I have had to engage in. Children with autism are intriguing and distinctive individuals. They are a bit challenged when it has to do with social situations, yet their minds are filled with a lot of social conversations that they try to express to the very best of their abilities.

I never dreamt about working with children with exceptional needs (as I like to refer to children with special needs), given the fact that my childhood ambition was to be a biochemist. It was in my 2nd year at the University of Jos, Nigeria, that my desire to build a career path around children with exceptional needs got its strong hold.

Ever since then, I have had my share of being a part of the transforming phase of these children and during this course, I have noted some observations. First is that children with autism are interesting learners. They can metamorphosize from a child who dreads holding a pencil because of its surface texture, to a child who enjoys drawing with another particular pencil with a better surface texture, due to the fact that it can comfortably facilitate him/her in expressing an artistic inclination and capability. The key to understanding this tendency I believe is to closely observe and understand what prompts the interest of the child with autism in participating in activities.

Secondly, the key to managing autism is consistent generalization. The term generalization when used in special needs education involves the ability of children with exceptional needs to use and apply skills that they have learnt, both functional and academic, in new and different environments and situations. My observation about generalization is thus; consistent generalization ensures that children with exceptional needs will be able to successfully complete specific activities independently and not rely on a certain reinforcement only found in one learning environment. Also it provides these children with more ways to achieve desired outcomes despite changing circumstances, especially if the child’s special education intervention was initiated early.

I also believe that families have a greater part to play in enabling their children with autism achieve independence, by making conscious effort to attend IEP meetings for the benefit of their children’s progress in intervention programs, and being part of activities given to their children.

Nevertheless, the greatest part of working with children on the spectrum is when they are meeting the milestones set for them. It motivates you in putting effort and enthusiasm into achieving more.

Children with autism are adorable individuals. You just have to build a bit of patience and persistence with them, and in turn watch them rise pass expectations.”

                                                                   

With other members of staff of CADET Academy

Farouk presently works at The CADET Academy in Abuja, a top center that provides therapy and solutions for children with special needs.