Some-of-the-attendees-of-the-Autism-Awareness-presentation-which-held-on-weekend
Autism is a simple behavioral disorder and disability that can be managed so that the affected person can connect with the society and reach their highest potential in life, according to Mrs. Dicta Ndolo, a United States-based Behaviour Analyst who has dismissed beliefs that the condition is a disease. She also advised parents of children living with Autism to break the silence by seeking the answers to their wards disability, instead of shying away, noting that would not be of help. Mrs. Dicta Ndolo who also is creating massive Autism Awareness campaign in Enugu state, told DAILY INDEPENDENT in an interview that symptoms of Autism can be identified in children through their communication, social behaviour and speech challenge, just as she admonished parents to be on the lookout for these signs. ‘Autism is a developmental, neurological disability that affects one in 87 children and for every five kids affected, four of them are boys and one is a girl’ Giving further details on health condition, she said, “Autism is a complex neurobehavioral condition that includes impairments in social interaction and developmental language and communication skills combined with rigid, repetitive behaviors. Because of the range of symptoms, this condition is now called autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It covers a large spectrum of symptoms, skills, and levels
of impairment. ASD ranges in severity from a
handicap that somewhat limits an otherwise normal life to a devastating
disability that may require institutional care. “Children with autism have
trouble communicating. They have trouble understanding what other people think
and feel. This makes it very hard for them to express themselves either with
words or through gestures, facial expressions, and touch.” “A child with ASD
who is very sensitive may be greatly troubled – sometimes even pained – by
sounds, touches, smells, or sights that seem normal to others. “Children who
are autistic may have repetitive, stereotyped body movements such as rocking,
pacing, or hand flapping. They may have unusual responses to people,
attachments to objects, resistance to change in their routines, or aggressive
or self-injurious behavior. At times they may seem
not to notice people, objects, or activities in their surroundings. Some
children with autism may also develop seizures. And in some cases, those
seizures may not occur until adolescence.” She also explained, “Some people
with autism are cognitively impaired to a degree. In contrast to more typical
cognitive impairment, which is characterized by relatively even delays in all
areas of development, people with autism show uneven skill development. They
may have problems in certain areas, especially the ability to communicate and
relate to others. But they may have unusually developed skills in other areas,
such as drawing, creating music, solving math problems, or memorising facts.
For this reason, they may test higher – perhaps even in the average or
above-average range – on nonverbal intelligence tests.” She further advised
parents to be on the lookout for a behaviour expert for their children who will
provide help to such disabilities, reasoning that Mr. Bill Gates, the Microsoft
CEO had Autism, yet he still made it to the peak of his career. “Symptoms of
autism typically appear during the first three years of life. Some children
show signs from birth. Others seem to develop normally at first, only to slip suddenly
into symptoms when they are 18 to 36 months old. However, it is now recognised
that some individuals may not show symptoms of a communication disorder
until the demands of the environment exceed their
capabilities. Autism is four times more common in boys than in girls. Being an
adult with Autism is not a terrible thing except the person involved was
severely affected during childhood,” she said. “Autism has three main
characteristics and minor ones. The main ones are difficulty in communication,
difficulty with social skills and difficulty with the sensory response,” she
added. She explained that difficulty in communication signifies that some of
them may likely not speak or if they speak, one might not understand their
pronunciations. Some may not understand spoken languages which will mean those
using gestures and sign language. While some talk, but might have problem with
volume, others scream, and the rest may whisper. Concerning social skills, she
said that though children with Autism don’t play properly with toys, it is
nothing to be ashamed of. During the awareness which was held at Bush House
Arena Nza Street, Enugu on Saturday, July 6, Mrs. Dicta lamented that children
get affected with Autism when they are born and don’t get help which makes them
grow into an adult with autism. She went further to pleaded with parents to
stop hiding their children living with Autism because some of them starve to
death after being abandoned and ostracised. Many of them are classified as
mentally challenged persons as a result. “Every child is a gift from God,” she
stressed
