Autism Is Still Hidden Condition In Society,Health Officials Reveals
In Summary
- Most parents do not know about autism.
- 1 out of 160 has autism condition.
As the country joins the rest of the world in marking the awareness month on autism , lack of awareness about the disease remains top factor derailing the fight against it.
According to the statistics by World Health Organisation 1 out of 160 children has autism condition. Lincoln Kabanya who is the head of Rehabilitation and Disability Unit Nairobi County Government says that the greatest challenge they are facing is that most parents are unable to identify the autism condition in their children.
“As a county government we have really tried to reach parents to come out and bring their children for various tests that’s not forthcoming.
“The real challenge here is that they lack of knowledge about this condition.So far it has been classified a disability status and it might also be difficult for some individuals to bring to attention the issue of disability because of stigmatisation associated with it,” Kabanya said.
He says the county government is now working closely with over 5,000 Community Health Volunteers to create awareness about autism.
“We have engaged our community health volunteers to senticise our people about this condition and I can assure you that alot of progress has been made,” Kabonyi added.
Signs of Autism in both young and older Children
Not responding to their name, avoiding eye contact, not smiling when you smile at them, getting very upset if they do not like a certain taste, smell or sound, repetitive movements, such as flapping their hands, flicking their fingers or rocking their body, not talking as much as other children, not doing as much pretend play, repeating the same phrase, not seeming to understand what others are thinking or feeling, unusual speech, such as repeating phrases and talking ‘at’ others, liking a strict daily routine and getting very upset if it changes, having a very keen interest in certain subjects or activities, getting very upset if you ask them to do something, finding it hard to make friends or preferring to be on their own, taking things very literally – for example, they may not understand phrases which are not direct.
By ALLAN OTIENO
