Diary of a Beautiful Special Needs Sibling

We’ve heard the word “inclusion” a thousand times this year.  What does it mean? Simply means to include someone in the activities of the society.  We know about gender-inclusive governance where people are pushing for women to be part of the decision-making in politics.  Speaking of politics, have you gotten your PVC? Next year, we have the power to elect Godly and serious-minded leaders, let’s not throw that power away and put the country in the hands of reckless and shameless people. Thanks.  Right now, I want to talk about special needs inclusion. Sometimes, people with special needs are excluded from a particular activity. It could start from your child not being invited to a classmate's birthday party because of his/her disability.  Thank God that this is now changing.  We have people with special needs in politics, sports, on our big screens, the art space, and so much more.  People are getting the message that EVERYONE matters.  But we sti...

  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...

  RETT SYNDROME   We learn every day. I just learnt about Rett syndrome this year and I thought to share it with you. This is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects mostly girls.   This disorder includes early growth and development followed by a slow development. Other characteristics include; loss of use of the hands, slowed brain and head growth, problems with walking, seizures, and intellectual disability. The severity of symptoms varies from child to child, just like Autism.  Before the symptoms begin, the child generally appears to grow and develop normally, but with little challenges as loss of muscle tone, difficulty feeding, and jerkiness in limb movements. Other symptoms may include walking on the toes, sleep problems, , teeth grinding and difficulty chewing, slowed growth, seizures, cognitive disabilities, and breathing difficulties while awake such as hyperventilation, apnea (breath holding), and air swallowing. Gradually, mental and physical ...

 Last year, I prayed that I would be part of the speakers for the GT-Bank Annual Autism Programme and I got an opportunity! As a chronic overthinker and scaredy cat, I began to worry if I would be able to do it. Everyone knows Public speaking is not my best forte. I couldn’t raise my voice in a group of ten, why would I be able to do it with over 300 people in the room and more virtually? Despite the voices in my head and my tailor trying to mess up my life the day before, I promised myself that I would let nothing bother me.  Nothing. This year’s theme is creating a community of Awe-tism Advocates and I couldn’t love it much more. This was the exact one I wanted to go into. To be honest, I cannot seem to understand how GT bank had been able to plan something so perfect. Everything was perfect for me from the dance and drama presentation by Corporate dance world, to the end of the two-day conference.  I was part of the panel discussion "It takes with a village", this mea...