Skip to main content

It’s Autism Awareness month, but what efforts need to be doubled?

 Happy Autism Awareness Day!

Image from HealthPark Pediatrics 

It is one of my favorite days on earth; I’ll tell you why. It’s the day when many put out content and reasons why YOU and everyone should know about Autism. 


Today, I’m speaking about Autism awareness in rural communities. Autism is a disorder that makes an individual act a certain way from others; there’s the aspect of communication, the meltdowns where people liken to “tantrums” for years, The therapy, and the fact that early intervention could allow a child to progress better in life. 


See post: Empower Voices For Autism


Early intervention means that after the detection of Autism in the ward or child’s life, there would need to be treatment. I’m not talking about blood samples or prescription of drugs; I’m talking about enrollment into special education, therapy, and lots of therapies.

Some people in the rural communities do not have the luxury of that.

My little Brother on the Spectrum 


A little part of me would want to blame the parents for not understanding Autism, but they honestly don’t know what it is. They could be linking the disorder to different situations; something like Demonic possession and illnesses. 


The truth is that, we need more awareness campaigns in the rural areas, and of course, non-governmental organizations are trying their best to increase awareness, like Solape Azazi, the founder of Cradle Lounge, who gave a speech at her local church on the understanding of faith and diversity. 

But there is an urgent need for the Government to step into the situation of the management of Autism. 


A lot of people know that there is little or no support from the government when it comes to special needs; I give them a thumbs-up for creating governmental schools, but let’s face it, how many teachers are properly trained to handle children with ASD?


See link: April 2023: Autism Awareness month 2023 


How many understand what it means to be on the spectrum? 

I cannot imagine the situation of the special needs families in rural areas. They may not understand the child’s behavior and link it to something else, the child may go through some awful things and eventually have to go into hiding, or worse, abandoned. My heart breaks for them because it’s a cruel thing to be misunderstood. 

There needs to be more campaigns for that. 


Let’s go the area of the church; no doubt about it, my country is very religious; we rely strongly on our faith; I’m like that. I rely on God for every aspect of my life. There are a million reasons why the church would need to know about various disorders because it increases ACCEPTANCE!


I originally wanted to write a post about celebrating the persons on the spectrum exceeding and progressing in life, but I wanted to write about this. 


Do I have faith that everyone would have a basic knowledge of the TRUE knowledge of Autism? Not really, but do I think that everyone should? Yes. 


See post: Films showcasing ASD 


This just proves that we have so much to do.

To end this post, let me express my joy for all the persons advocating for the Neurodiverse community- for the school owners, mothers, neurotypical siblings, government workers, and media organizations; we will get our way and everyone on the spectrum will be understood and catered for.  

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

EASTER SUNDAY- THE DAY JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD AND THE DAY I THOUGHT OF SUICIDE

I believe in the opinion that everyone has thought of suicide, and you can argue, but you know deep down, something may have happened to you to make you say, “I’m going to end it all.” But let’s talk about something that happened to me. Now, this article is not to scare you, or to make me seem easily influenced by the other voice. It is to remind you of three things. One, bottling emotions is not good.  Two, the role of caregiving for someone with a disability is not something that is your sole responsibility. Three, the devil is a bastard.  Okay, let's get into it. If you’ve been following my space, you probably know that I have a brother with Autism. As much as it is a beautiful experience, it is very scary. Whenever my brother is coming to the house from school, we ‘ Tobi-proof ’ the house, meaning that we have to hide some things, lock some things up, and it is quite a lot.  See also: Choosing Love as a neurotypical sibling Long story short. I had a meltdown on Sunda...

Special Education!

  It is a hard pill to swallow but children with developmental disorders are often not recognized in society.  Yes, I said it! Special education is a unique educational program for students who have mental, physical, and emotional challenges.  These children require special and unique teaching approaches. Sometimes, these approaches take place outside a regular classroom setting. Special-needs children refer to children who have some  sensory challenges.  Some of these challenges are common to children with Autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, Cerebral palsy, hearing impairments, developmental delay, intellectual disability, emotional disturbance, visual impairment, and much more. It’s unfair that children are placed in regular classrooms and are forced to learn the way neurotypical children are.  My brother once attended a school for neurotypical children.  This was a time when we weren’t sure about his diagnosis. I could tell that it was hard fo...

Choosing True Love as a sibling of special needs.

What It’s Like to Date as a Special Needs Sibling? The truth is, I worry about love. Who doesn’t? You’re choosing someone to build your life with, and what happens if you make a bad choice? It’s not just about my happiness. It’s about my future children, my stability, and, in my case, my little brother. The topic of caregiving has been on my mind since I reached a certain age, making me think more about the future; my career, my health, my responsibilities… everything. Love and relationships are a huge part of that. I’ve never doubted that I have the best friends around me…people who understand my role as a neurotypical sibling. But when it comes to love? That’s where the anxiety creeps in. Not sure if you’ve noticed, but the dating pool is a big mess. I’d describe it as “shege” before finding real love” except if you’re God’s favorite and somehow skip the drama. My situation hasn’t been smooth, and I’d like to think that God is saving me for the one. Unashamedly, I love romance, ...

Empower Voices for Autism

  Why is it very important to empower voices for Autism? There it is! Gt Bank has done it againnnn… It’s one thing when you’re doing everything you can to be aware of a neurodevelopmental disorder, it’s another to make sure others can be aware.  This is my fifth year attending the GT bank Autism conference.  Check out the past year’s post:  Creating a community to Awe-Tism Advocates And every year I go, I am so empowered and  also filled with hope. Hundreds of people attend to know more about autism, to find ways how they can help their children or students. This year’s theme focuses on inspiring confidence in individuals with autism to reach their full potential in their preferred sector, whether art or music.  I’ll start with the dance drama which was… Amazing! Mind you, I’m going to be using that term a lot. The actor in the stage play was a very talented photographer. The moral of the riveting story was that people would always try to take credit for wh...