THERAPY OUTREACH: Free consultation

Sometime last year, while chatting with a father in the UK, who has a child on the spectrum, he asked me “what are you doing about families in Nigeria that cannot afford therapy?”

I talked about special centers like Patrick Speech and Languages Center and Pison Therapy Center who were doing what they could in supporting some families (as many as they could), but off course that was just a drop in the ocean, considering that there are quite a number of families that have undiagnosed children with autism, there are a number that know that their child is on the autism spectrum but do not know how to get help, and considering the fact that these centers cannot meet the needs of all families that bring their children through their doors.

To solve this problem (in their own way), Patrick Speech is partnering with Pure Souls Learning Foundation (an NGO) to organize a 3-days FREE CONSULTATION program for families that have children with developmental disorders. The event is called a THERAPY OUTREACH, and it will hold from Thursday April 20 till Saturday April 22 at Patrick Speech and Languages Centre, 13B Remi Fani-Kayode Street, Ikeja GRA.

The THERAPY OUTREACH will have professionals in the fields of Behaviour therapy, Speech and Language therapy, Occupational therapy, Physiotherapists, including special needs teachers. These professionals will help to assess and make recommendations on how family members or caregivers can support each child that is brought for this consultation. They are also partnering with doctors from Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), for necessary assessment and recommendations.

The target participants for this outreach are families that have children with autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and other related disorders, that cannot afford therapy. The event is designed for indigent families.

So do you know any family that falls in this category? Please encourage them to come. Let’s stop hiding children with special needs, hoping that the disorder will just disappear. Especially if the family cannot afford the necessary help for their child, this CONSULTATION is designed for them.

Also, that same weekend, Patrick Speech is organizing a training on communication skill development, teaching parents, siblings, teachers, therapists, and caregivers how to help build communication skill in children with autism. The facilitator of the training is a Speech and Language Therapist, Eniola Lahanmi.

Eniola Lahanmi has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the Rochester Institute of Technology, and she has a Masters in Speech and Language Therapy from the University of Reading in the UK. Eniola currently consults for special schools in Lagos, providing therapy for children with language delays and other communication difficulties. Eniola spoke at the 2016 GTBank’s Annual Autism Awareness Seminar on Improving Communication in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Many of the participants said that she was their favourite facilitator, as she brought the training home (proper Naija).

So if you know a parent, a therapist and others that need this training, tell them about it. It holds on April 22 at Saint Paul’s Nursery and Primary School, 73B Oduduwa Crescent, Ikeja GRA. The training will cost 10,000 Naira, but for parents, it is subsidized so they are to pay 5000 Naira.

For Autism therapists that want to become IBCCES Certified Autism Specialists, this training will add up as a Continuing Education (CE) point for you.

For details about the 2 programs, you can call 08038957022 or 09053552959.