AaCT celebrates 25 years of Autism Advocacy

 The Autism Awareness Care and Training Centre, (AaCT) an organisation committed to the inclusion of persons with Autism in Ghana is celebrating 25 years of Autism Advocacy this year.

AaCT advocates and train persons living with Autism to become useful citizens by teaching them daily living skills as well as some skills needed for the job market in Ghana.

Students are taught how to wash clothes and dishes, weaving, engage in various craft activities as well as sporting activities.

Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain. Persons on the spectrum may have problems with social communication and interaction, and restricted or repetitive behaviors or interests.

Mrs Serwah Quaynor, Founder of Autism Awareness Care and Training Centre, told the Special Mothers Project that it has been 25 years of hard work and yet a lot still needed to be done to achieve the full inclusion of persons living with Autism.

Ahead of 2^nd April, which is designated as World Autism Day, AaCT is engaging in a series of awareness creation activities to enable people understand persons on the autism spectrum disorder.

Mrs Quaynor said Autism in Ghana was either the result of a curse or bad parenting, but AaCT had proven that persons with Autism could develop their God given potential when given the opportunity and the right support.

She said almost all the autism centers in Ghana have received direct support with respect to their inception and continuous delivery and have trained and mentored numerous professionals supporting autism in Ghana.

Mrs Quaynor called on the government to give practical support not only to persons living with Autism but to all children with special educational needs to enable them realise their full potential.

Be committed to training your children with Special Needs - Parents told

 Ms Helena Botwe, a teacher at the Dzorwulu Special School has advised parents of children with special needs to be committed to their training  

 "Children with special needs,  need to be trained both at home and in school to help them become responsible adults," 

 

"Don't leave your child with special needs just like that, invest some time to train your child to do basic daily living skills," she urged 

 

Ms Botwe gave the advice when the La Nkwantanang Madina Municipal Education Directorate organised a day's meeting for learners with special educational needs and their parents as well as some teachers within the Municipality.  

 

She said parents needed to show responsibility and collaborate with the schools especially the teachers to help train the children to become responsible adults and meaningful citizens.  

 

Ms Sylvia Kuagbenu, Municipal Special Needs and Inclusive Education Coordinator,  said the meeting was to enable parents and teachers share ideas and familiarise with each other. 

 

She said the Madina Demonstration Basic and Special Education unit needed support to be able to function well and collaborating with the parents was a step in the right direction  

 

Mrs Hannah Awadzi, Executive Director of the Special Mothers Project,  an advocacy programme on Cerebral palsy issues,  who was the guest of honour,  admonished parents to equip themselves with knowledge about their children's conditions to enable them train the children appropriately  

 

She also advised teachers to respect and value the parents' opinions since the parents were considered the first professional with regards to their children's conditions.  

 

Ms Love Amoabeng Koromoah, Schedule Officer for Persons with Disabilities at the Madina Social Welfare who chaired the meeting,  educated the parents about the Common Fund for persons with disabilities and encouraged the parents to apply when they needed help 

Lady with Cerebral Palsy is appealing to universities to admit her.

 

A 26-year-old lady living with cerebral palsy is appealing to Universities in Ghana and abroad to give her a chance to university education.

Ms Nora Nuerkie Dawoo, completed Senior High School (SHS) in 2018 but she said she was failed by the West African Examination Council (WEAC) because of her handwriting.

She said: “My condition cerebral palsy makes it very difficult for me to write and when I do, it is not legible for someone to read.”

“When I was writing the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) an exemption was applied for me by a special education teacher in the school, so I was given extra time and all the tools I needed to write the exams, however, when I was writing the SHS examination I was registered as a regular student.”

Ms Dawoo told the Special Mothers Project that she is intelligent and can make it to the university given the necessary assistance and push, but she had been stranded with her education since 2018.

“I am always home, I am unable to even go out, but I know I have the potential to succeed, and I do not want my condition to limit me,” she said.

Ms Dawoo said her father died when she was in SHS form Two and since then life has been a bit more tough for her in terms of finances, calling on government, corporate organisations and philanthropists to support her to make her dream come true.

She speaks good English; she can type on her phone and use apps.

Madam Lizzy Sowah, mother of Ms Dawoo, said her daughter was a fighter and believes she will succeed given the needed support.

She recalled that during her time in SHS, her classmates use to physically carry her to and from school every day, “her classmates really helped her to improve and gave her great company.”

“Now she is always in the room crying, she doesn’t even come out and it is not helping her at all,” she added.

Madam Sowah said her daughter is intelligent and called on government and the Universities to give her a chance to further her education.

Stakeholders urge government to prioritise Inclusion in ECCD Policy

 

Stakeholders at a workshop to validate Ghana’s Early Childhood Care and Development Policy (ECCD) has urged the government to prioritise Inclusion in the policy.

The participants said the very slow pace of integrating children with disabilities and their caregivers into the mainstream, demands a devoted policy focus.

The workshop organised by the Department of Children looked at the revised Early Childhood Care and Development Policy framework to solicit final inputs

The draft revised ECCD Policy defines six domains which are nurturing care, health, nutrition, early learning, safety and security, responsive caregiving, and inclusion.

The inclusion domain focuses on introducing interventions and promoting behaviours that will accelerate access to services and care for children with disabilities.

The inclusion domain also provides for support to caregivers of young children with disabilities in recognition of the additional burden that caring for children with special needs imposes.

Mrs Florence Ayisi-Quartey, Acting Director of the Department of Children, said inclusion was important and cut across various sectors and pledged the department’s commitment towards the inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream programmes.