AUTISM… PART I

When it comes to the disability world, with respect to the Nigerian society, the word, “autism” is a relatively strange term. Strange indeed to parents, teachers and even professionals. Little wonder then, that in many parts of the world, people have not even heard about the term, nor understood its nature.
Normally, as children struggle through school, they encounter a lot of difficulties. These difficulties could naturally be inherent in the child or in the child’s environment. However, conditions like autism make a colossal contribution to a child’s inability to learn. Therefore, understanding autism is a n issue that gives great concern to everyone who comes in contact with children with this condition. At the moment, the awareness level is generally low among parents and teachers.
Knowledge about the nature of autism, its characteristics and identification strategies would go a long way in ensuring the recognition of its symptoms in children as early as possible.
Definition:
The word “autism” was coined from a Greek word “autos” which means “self” by a renowned psychiatrist Blueler, who observed in 1911 the behavioural traits tending withdrawal into self.
Autism is a biological disorder that occurs in an individual before birth and runs through life presenting different development difficulties at all age level.
Autism in a child results in delayed development and deviance from normal growth and development processes in three areas of behaviour. These are:
– Social relationship and interactions
– Language and communication
– Activities and interests.
Autism as a deficiency makes a child unable or unwilling to put together the primary building blocks of experience. It affects the senses, speech, actions and emotions. This autistic child does not move naturally from one sound to another, from one word to another and from one experience to another like other normal developing children.
According to APA, 1994 and WHO 1992, autism is a pervasive developmental disorder. It is located on the same continuum with mental retardation on one side, and specific development disorders, on the other side.
Researcher’s opinions are divided as to the causes of autism, while earlier researchers believed that autism was caused by poor parenting, recent researchers have proved that autism has clear biological origin caused by abnormal brain development, structure and/or neurochemistry. Autism can be best viewed as a behavioural syndrome, which may be produced by multiple biological causes often traceable to the brain functioning.
Autism causes the following difficulties in individuals:
– Poor reciprocal social interaction
– Restrictions in verbal and non-verbal reciprocal communication
– Restricted use of imagination
– Restricted interest
– Repetitive movements
– Extreme withdrawal from environmental stimulus
– Bizarre behaviour…
… To be continued. (Culled from “The Special Child” magazine)

Imagine…our World

Welcome to our world. We would like to hope we will make friends here. We want to tell you about us, what we stand for, and what we hope for.

Every human being longs to feel it is has a friend somewhere and can chat with that friend. The human spirit naturally wishes for company. You know a need to hear his own voice bounce back to him from a corresponding voice. There is the understanding that the first cry of a child at birth was a call for attention. You probably don’t really remember that. But you know it is true, Imagine therefore the response to that first cry becoming a shudder of horror and the imminent rejection of love when a tiny hand is stretched.

Life itself promised nothing much at the first cry of a new born but a promise to present challenges. Man faces those challenges and struggles to identify his first name according to the level of those challenges. In the corner of our world, it might be slightly different so imagine this:

The cry of the newborn, the excitement of the mother as she suckles him, the heat of the room, the crowded relatives as they wonder if to kill the tethered goat and send emissaries to uncles and aunties. Then the naming ceremony, asking for the name of the child from the oracle. The long evenings when the mother rocks the child or straps him to her back as she manages her small farm to support her husband. The child has a temperature and is given some herbal drink. But the temperature persists. Since the birth of the child, they have not returned to the clinic or the mission house. There is anxiety but there is also no money.

Awareness of the importance of immunizations walks on crutches in my corner and now you know, the child becomes either visually impaired of physically challenged. In my corner of the world, he is in deep trouble. There is shame to overcome (as if it is his fault for becoming handicapped), there is confusion from his closest and loved, that is his family. His mother simply withers from within as she imagines a door to hope, peace and prosperity has been slammed shut. Fear and shame become twin brothers that walk in the family and slowly but surely anger at the gods and government.

Welcome to the world of the handicapped in our corner of the universe and the Human family.

Our story is not about gloom and doom. We would share with you stories of courage, enterprise, resilience and hope. We intend to share with you the vision of light in darkened room that made one woman determined to open the doors of life wider and brighter.

We would share the lives of the challenged members of our society. We will share our dreams, we would invite you into our world.

We would continue this conversation with you often and look to you for replies.

Welcome to our world. We would like to hope we will make friends here. We want to tell you about us, what we stand for, and what we hope for.

Every human being longs to feel it is has a friend somewhere and can chat with that friend. The human spirit naturally wishes for company. You know a need to hear his own voice bounce back to him from a corresponding voice. There is the understanding that the first cry of a child at birth was a call for attention. You probably don’t really remember that. But you know it is true, Imagine therefore the response to that first cry becoming a shudder of horror and the imminent rejection of love when a tiny hand is stretched.

Life itself promised nothing much at the first cry of a new born but a promise to present challenges. Man faces those challenges and struggles to identify his first name according to the level of those challenges. In the corner of our world, it might be slightly different so imagine this:

The cry of the newborn, the excitement of the mother as she suckles him, the heat of the room, the crowded relatives as they wonder if to kill the tethered goat and send emissaries to uncles and aunties. Then the naming ceremony, asking for the name of the child from the oracle. The long evenings when the mother rocks the child or straps him to her back as she manages her small farm to support her husband. The child has a temperature and is given some herbal drink. But the temperature persists. Since the birth of the child, they have not returned to the clinic or the mission house. There is anxiety but there is also no money.

Awareness of the importance of immunizations walks on crutches in my corner and now you know, the child becomes either visually impaired of physically challenged. In my corner of the world, he is in deep trouble. There is shame to overcome (as if it is his fault for becoming handicapped), there is confusion from his closest and loved, that is his family. His mother simply withers from within as she imagines a door to hope, peace and prosperity has been slammed shut. Fear and shame become twin brothers that walk in the family and slowly but surely anger at the gods and government.

Welcome to the world of the handicapped in our corner of the universe and the Human family.

Our story is not about gloom and doom. We would share with you stories of courage, enterprise, resilience and hope. We intend to share with you the vision of light in darkened room that made one woman determined to open the doors of life wider and brighter.

We would share the lives of the challenged members of our society. We will share our dreams, we would invite you into our world.

We would continue this conversation with you often and look to you for replies.