Autism: Coming To Terms With Reality

The United Nations (UN) marked World
Autism Awareness Day a couple of days
ago to draw attention to autism and related disorders that affect millions of people globally.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), autism is one of the fastest growing human development disabilities in the world today: Infact, records of the National Autistic Society show that autism is one of the most severe and distressing forms of mental disorders affecting one in every 150 newborns in Nigeria.
Unfortunately, society has paid very little or no attention to those suffering from this complex disorder of the brain characterised by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication and repetitive behaviours, from childhood.
The theme of this year’s World Autism Awareness Day is “Autism and the 2030 Agenda: Inclusion and Neurodiversity.” The aim is to provoke special intervention programme that would enable autistic children to get the needed understanding and support everywhere.
Like other humans, autistic children need proper treatment that would guarantee them a respectable life and ensure their rights to expression through creative activities. Society owes autistic children access to equal education and other privileges with other members of society.
We expect that government would seize the opportunity of this year’s commemoration to make a meaningful difference that will help autistic children and their families. Indeed, the nation’s curriculum should be reviewed to include autistic children, in the normal public classrooms.
It has become rather imperative for Nigerians to introduce legislations that would ensure budgetary provisions for children with autism and persons with other special needs and ensure that such legislations are domesticated at the States and Local Government levels.
Similarly, adequate measures should be taken by government and local communities to end the mystification of autism and stigmatization of autistic children. A situation where autistic children are seen as a curse on families and thereby separated from the rest of society must stop.
Against this backdrop, the responsibility for autistic persons should be another reason why sufficient awareness programmes should be pursued, to at least avail parents of socio-medical steps needed, to reduce the risk of autism or its effect.
Although, there is no known scientific cure for autism, it is also not infectious. But studies have shown that making them learn, play and compete with normal children can help them to develop self confidence, be more sociable and also promote psycho-motor abilities
Because of the ignorance on this health condition some parents have had to deal with avoidable stigma. In some cases, some of the parents have locked away such children from the public and ended up making the children develop monstrous tendencies.
On the other hand, those who expose their autistic children re-enforce the humanity in them and develop latent productive potentials that add to the productivity index of the country. Indeed, there is value in every seeming disability.
The Tide thinks that the support for autistic children is about one of the best ways of appreciating God for being born as a normal being. This will be best understood when it is known that those living with autism did not bring it upon themselves nor did their parents cause it.
As we bring ourselves to accept the reality of autism, society must make conscious effort to accept this group of humans and treat them with the needed love and respect. In being of help to them caution must also be taken not to abuse them especially sexually.
Until there is a new and acceptable mindset for persons with autism, the drive for the attainment of United Nations Social Development Goals (SDGs) may never be realised.