2nd April, 2019
Ike Foundation for Autism on Tuesday called for training of professional caregivers and the deployment of assistive technology to help children with down syndrome.
Mr Francis Mohie, the Executive Director of the foundation, made the call during a sensitisation walk in Abuja in commemoration of the World Autism Awareness Day, with the theme “Assistive Technology, Active Participation”.
Assistive technology is an umbrella term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities or elderly population, while also including the process used in selecting, locating, and using them.
The World Autism Awareness Day has been set aside by the United Nations (UN) to create awareness and carry out advocacy on behalf of children living with autism.
“Assistive technology is the technology you give to people, who lack some particular skills to aid them.
“If we have children, who lack in one area or the other, there are aids that we can be put in place to get them communicate their needs to the public or care giver.
“Some of these kids might not be able to talk forever, but there are gadgets that can be given to them to aid their communication.
“It is very challenging to afford services. The government should sponsor, give incentives to parents so they can access help for their children.
“There is need for capacity building because professional service providers are limited,” Mohie said.
According to him, there are standards and ethics for the practice, and these are lacking.
He said that government could sponsor teachers to specialise in the area, adding that Nigeria had the resources to train experts to handle cases of children living with autism.
Mohie also explained that parents and care givers could provide the children with Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) to enable them to express their needs.
He urged parents with children living with the condition to be alert to certain strange behaviours their child could exhibit.
The executive director urged parents not to attribute autism to witchcraft “because there is always a place to access help”.
Mrs Biby Yinkere, the Convener, Engraced Ones Prayer Support and Advocacy Initiative, called on the government to provide schools for inclusive education.
Yinkere, mother to a 7-year-old girl, who was diagnosed with down syndrome, said that the management of down syndrome required early intervention and more of educational assistance than medical attention.
“Autism does not have a physical manifestation and so many people mistake it for witchcraft.
“There are few medical personnel trained in that area and most of the time the condition stays on for long before it is diagnosed.
“When it is detected early before two years, it can be managed.
“The management of down syndrome is not really medical, but educational because it is about the withdrawal of a child.
“Our educational system is not tailored to manage the condition. Our educational structure in most schools cannot cater for these children.
“We are meant to practice inclusion and not for the affected children to live in isolation; we need to make them part of the society.
“The government has to put structures in place for the assessment of this condition and this should be available and accessible,” she said.
According to her, more sensitisation is needed because many people still lack the knowledge and understanding of autism.
Mrs Mary Uwaifo, mother of a 17-year old autism child, said that the condition had been stressful considering the child was diagnosed at the age of three years.
She spoke of the need for special schools for children living with autism to make them part of the society.
According to her, speech therapists and occupational therapists should also be trained to educate children with the condition based on self help.
Autism is a complex neurobehavioral condition that includes impairments in social interaction and developmental language and communication skills combined with rigid, repetitive behaviors. Because of the range of symptoms, this condition is now called autism spectrum disorder.