For two days, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GT Bank) brought experts from different fields and parents with autistic children together to brainstorm on how best to raise a children with Autism with particular emphasis on the role of parents and the community. It was part of activities marking the banks Autism week. Asian Nkutt was there and now reports.
The 8th edition of the Guaranty Trust Bank Autism Week began with a two day conference, which held at the Muson Center, Onikan, Lagos, with opening sessions, presentations and panel discussions with experts in various fields surrounding the issue.
The theme this year was ‘Raising a Child with Autism: The Role of Family and the Community’ with emphasis on being a voice for children and adults living with Autism.
Autism, or autism spectrum disorder, refers to a range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and non-verbal communication, as well as unique strengths and differences.
According to the University of Ibadan, 100, 000 cases occur in Nigeria yearly. Experts say there is no known cause of Autism yet, but it is known to be a genetic disorder. The range and severity of symptoms can vary widely. Common symptoms include difficulty with communication, difficulty with social interactions, obsessive interests and repetitive behaviours.
Early recognition, as well as behavioural, educational and family therapies may reduce symptoms and support development and learning.
The speaker for the first day was Mrs. Joyce Onafowokan, Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Social Development who represented the state government spoke on its contributions to the management of autism.
Speaking on ‘The role of Government in Autism Advocacy,’ she said that the Lagos State was focused on diagnosis and management while announcing that Governor Akinbunmi Ambode has plans in place to build two early intervention centers, an announcement that was received with great joy.
Also, Mrs. Dotun Akande the Director of Patrick Speech and Languages Center in Ikeja, Lagos, focused on the strength of collaboration in raising a child with Autism.
Mrs. Akande who narrated her experiences from running a school for autistic children for over 12 years as well as a mother to an autistic child, said there was need to harness the collaborative power of everyone involved when it comes to caring for the kids and ensuring that they are raised to fulfill their full potential.
She said “Collaboration is about extending what you have, pulling the next person along the way, finding someone that does the right thing and finding someone that can do something better than you and come together.”
With a very lively presentation, Camille Proctor, the director of The Color of Autism Foundation in the USA, shared with parents of autistic kids how they could manage reactions they get during an outing in public with their children.
Pulling from her experience as a mother of an autistic child, she implored the parents to be the first advocate of their children at home, adding “Instead of getting angry when someone doesn’t understand your child in public, educate them.”
To place emphasis on the importance of advocacy at the family level, she said “Advocacy begins in your home. You can’t teach the world unless you teach your home.”
Dr. Maymunah Kadiri, a Psychiatrist, who spoke on ‘The role of Mental Health in the community,’ said mental health is different from mental illness.
One of the important aspect of her presentation was the message she passed across imploring participants to imagine being blamed for something not done by them. She said “Imagine if you got blamed for cancer. Mental illness is just as real.”
She ended her presentation by introducing the ‘How Bodi’ App where everyone can download to help them access their mental health on the go.
One of the panel discussions was moderated by Dr. Paul Agboola who brought together Health Providers to talk about dealing with seizures and other health challenges.
The panel featured a speech therapist, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, a pediatrician, a nutritionist and a developmental-behavioral pediatrician. They all spoke on areas of expertise by the guidance of the moderator and then took questions from the audience especially parents who needed more light thrown on specific issues. It was an enlightening discussion that went a long way to improving knowledge.
The second panel featured parents with autistic children on the panel and was moderated by Dr. Grace Bamigboye, a Speech and Language Specialist of over 20 years. The parents were on the panel to shed light on what exactly has worked for them and what hasn’t worked with a focus on independent living and transition challenges faced by the kids.
The panel ended by taking questions from parents in the audience to get answers for specific challenges they were facing.
The second day of the conference began with the first speaker, Dr. Funmilola Omotayo, talking on Meeting the Needs of Families Living with Autism. She showcased some studies that had been carried out detailing the number of families living with Autism and implored all present on the need to form support groups to assist them.
She said: “Even if it’s a little thing like taking care of a child for the mother to go to the salon, it goes a long way.”
READ ALSO: GTB holds annual Autism conference
This led to the second session that pointed out the importance of the community network as a critical asset in sustainable autism care. The session was handled by Dr. Noimot Balogun, a public health communication expert, showcased all the people around that could be involved in caring for the kids.
Dr. Balogun cited involving people in mosques, churches, artisans, traditional birth attendants in outreaches to educate them about the disorder so as to equip them to know what to do when faced with a child living with Autism.
Presenting a paper on ‘The Strength of Inclusion in the Classroom,’ Mrs. Bolanle Adewole, said all children can learn and that if teachers have this at the back of their minds, they will be able to work with them.
She also talked about integrating children living with autism slowly into mainstream classes as even the typical kids could learn from them as well. “In collaborative environment, all hands are on deck. The teachers as well as the students,” she said.
The second presentation featured practical demonstrations on how to teach a child living with Autism how to perform common tasks for himself or herself with the aim of independent living.
At the end of this presentation, parents acknowledged that they have learnt new and more methods that would help them in teaching their children.
The two panels were focused on inclusion and the early years and additional needs. Both panels were moderated by special educators, speech and language therapists and a host of others.
The Autism week did not end with the conference. It continued with one on one consultation / behavioral clinic for children and adults to further connect the parents of children living with Autism to the professionals brought in by the bank.
