Autism is a serious developmental disorder that impairs the ability to communicate and interact.
Autism is characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and non-verbal communication as well as by unique strengths and differences.
There are different types of autism and the causes vary due to different combinations of genetic and environmental influences
Obvious signs appear between the ages of 2 – 3yrs. Sometimes as early as 18months.
Early interventions can improve outcomes. Treatment can help but this condition can’t be cured.
We have more than 100 thousand cases per year in Nigeria.
Today has been set aside to foster a greater understanding of autism In order to eliminate stigma.
Children living with autism are unique, they need love and not hate.
Show some love today!
The problem with Nigeria is early intervention
True and these children are usually segregated in schools. I feel for them.
That’s true @Ako
They are supposed to be given a special care, unfortunately they are not.
the caring aspect of it deals with the parents. some lock them indoor and some even use them to beg for money and foods for them..
the government are trying thier best
Too bad!
They are been segregated if they are in a regular school settings, Autism child must be taking to special needs school, or inclusives type of educatonal settings.
sometimes parents do harm them by thinking that they can do things like a normal child.
Are the special needs schools present in every town? How accessible are they? And who owns them?- Individuals or government? What are their fees like? If are expensive, poor parents may prefer to keep their autism-affected children at home due to inability to afford their fees. These are factors that need to be looked into.
My question always remains the fact that, while giving recommendations, we always direct it to an unknown entity. Who should look into it. What are you trying to do in your little as regards that. This is my first time I learned about Austism and she just did her path in enlightening me. Let’s do something please.
Yes
Is there any method of early diagnosis?
Mansy, since there is no cure, can it be traced at pregnancy stage and possibly prevented?
Symptoms are visible from ages 2-3, the earliest it can be detected is around 18months
I don’t think it can be traced during pregnancy stage, I am unaware of such measures.
It is as the child grows that one can notice such deficiencies
Thankyou for clarification
Okay, thank you.
Oh! So parents of toddlers have to be watchful then. Noticing the symptoms on time would greatly help.
MA, can you please provide the symptoms to identify autism
Autism is a spectrum of closely related disorders with a shared core of symptoms. Autism spectrum disorder appears in infancy and early childhood, causing delays in many basic areas of development, such as learning to talk, play, and interact with others. The signs and symptoms of autism vary widely, as do its effects. Some children with autism have only mild impairments, while others have more obstacles to overcome. However, every child on the autism spectrum has problems, at least to some degree, in the following three areas:
1 Communicating verbally and non-verbally
2 Relating to others and the world around them
3.Thinking and behaving flexibly
There are different opinions among doctors, parents, experts, and special educators, about what causes autism and how best to treat it. There is one fact, however, that everyone agrees on: (early and intensive intervention helps).
For children at risk and children who show early signs, it can make all the difference.
Thanks for the info.
Thank you very much
How many experts in this field do we have sir, Nigeria?
They are special needs children.
Yes they are
yes that are part of the categories of Special needs or person`s living with disabiities
Thankyou for the knowledge shared
In Nigeria, most of these children are not given the proper care they really deserved.
exactly in africa.. but i can really say the Nigeria government are just pumping funds into special educational system of education in Nigeria compare to 1990`s.
Mandy, I will recommend you go ahead to further enlighten the public on the things to be out in place to further help this cause. Thanks for this I must say. It’s my first time of knowing something about it.
You are welcome
Thank you for the awareness
The first step I think is human capital development. How many experts in this field do we have? How many school counsellors do we have in the first place? not to talk of counsellors who are experts in autism who can carry out effective diagnosis of the problem in order to identify it. How many clinical psychologists do we have in our public schools and other relevant institutions like the ministry of education (state and federal), SUBEB, etc? So, you can’t give what you do not have, simple!
This is good education. But it’s surprising how our govt/health sector don’t give much recognition to autism.
Yes prevention is better than cure but what about those who tried to prevent it but their labours were futile? Creation of more schools which should be affordable and accessible should be made available to these children. This will help them more.
I’m glad to return here to share that during the GYSD activities my location group visited these children and Tade here who is an educator of children with special needs was there with us.
It is really good to follow up what we discuss here. Action is the best tool we can use.
Exactly,
Well done ma’am