‘There is hope for children living with autism’

There is hope for children living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a condition which causes delays in typical development of a child, an advocate for ASD, Mrs Idowu Olajide has said.

She said there is a need for awareness on the condition so that autistic children can get adequate treatment.

According to her, they are not useless and should not be put under lock and key in the house, like common criminals. “A lot of people don’t know what the condition is and it makes them to see it as a spiritual and (or) congenital problem.

“They are only challenged, but they have their unique qualities that can be beneficial to parents and the society at large,” she added.

Mrs Olajide, a medical laboratory scientist, said they need good schools which should be affordable and accessible.

“At the moment, most of the centres for these children are quite expensive and are beyond the reach of even the rich, not to talk about poor parents,” she said.

Mrs Olajide said one in 98 children have the condition in the United States (US) but there is no available data on the condition in Nigeria.

“But I know many of our children were born with ASD, even by the rich because children do not choose families where they will not be born into. So, they are in the house of the poor and the affluent. What is painful is that most parents prefer to lock them up in the house.

“Children with ASD are special and unique and they deserve the best because they have gifts and talents to do great things. In the US many of the can solve puzzles more than the “normal” people. Some are even good at drumming, among others,” she added.

On their food, she said, they shouldn’t take dairy food, adding casein-free and gluten-free products are okay for them.

People, she said, should not be misguided that ASD is a spiritual problem because it is not. “It is a condition, though, with no known cause but can be managed,” she added.

Recounting the ordeal of children with ASD, she said, there was a case of a child who was alleged to have been thrown into the mortar and pounded because the parents felt the child was evil.

“There are other instances too, where parents abandon their children or take them abroad because they believe the children are standing in their way to live a fulfilled life as they are, especially, seen to affect their social status,” Mrs Olajide said.

She said people should stop the stigmitisation of children born with this condition as they have equal rights like anybody. They should be treated fairly because it is not their fault they were born that way. “God only knows why they were born that way. People should not call them “imbecile” or “not normal” children,” she said.

On research findings, Mrs Olajide said, it has been established that ingesting the required daily dosage of folic acid can prevent the condition by expectant mothers.

On the challenges, she said, autistic children are sleepless at night and often have problem with their digestive system, which was why they often drugs that aid digestion.

She enjoined the Federal Government to make their education, food and drugs, among others cheap and accessible, so that they can be well catered for like their counterparts in Europe and the United States.