First of its kind Autism Awareness Day held

The earlier the child is diagnosed with autism, the better for the child.

May 15, 2023

Solly Maseko 2 minutes read

Ms Sasha Singh explaining about the importance of the first Autism Awareness Open Day held at the Witbank Hospital on Friday, May 5.

Witbank Hospital held an Autism Awareness Open Day to provide quality and effective support and service to autistic children.

The event was held on Friday, May 5.

According to Ms Sasha Singh, the event is the first of its kind to be held in eMalahleni, but is the first of many other initiatives to come this year.

The event was further organised to bring together all services available and related to autism under one roof for parents, caregivers and families to access.

“We know the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder is rising rapidly with the latest prevalence rate of one in every 36 births. The condition is often misunderstood, misdiagnosed and mismanaged. Parents and their autistic children are bearing the brunt of this lack of knowledge and awareness. This event is designed to have both the public and the private sectors in eMalahleni to come together and bridge the gaps in knowledge and practice and hence assist in providing support and appropriate care for these families,” said Singh.

She further asked the participants to leave their contact numbers and to indicate whether they would love to be part of the upcoming WhatsApp groups.

Dr Victoria Edeani a paediatrician, explaining about the disorder.

The groups will be created to provide support to families, professionals, schools, and daycare centres and to share reliable information freely.

Ms Mmakosha Mokaila, the regional development officer from Autism South Africa told the parents about her experience as a parent and that she was willing to give advice, training and learning opportunities.

She is also based in eMalahleni which is a plus to the parents.

She spoke to parents about how she struggled with her child as he was not accepted and she was told to take her child to a mental institution.

“The journey we took was a very difficult and painful one and with no one willing to help. We wanted people to support and listen to us. The Department of Education needs to assist us because every child has the right to education. As a mother we are begging you to please support us,” said Mokaila.

Ms Mmakosha Mokaila, the regional development officer from Autism South Africa addressing the parents about her experience as a parent of a child with the disorder.

Paediatrician Dr Victoria Edeani explained the symptoms and challenges faced by children with the disorder like social interaction, eye contact, delayed speech, repeating things over and over again, restricted interests and many others.

She also spoke about the diagnoses and how it is conducted, behavioural problems, medication and the side effects thereof. “The earlier the child is diagnosed, the better for the child,” said Edeani.

Ms Dumi Tembe from the Department of Education told the parents that as a department they were willing to help and support them as they believe that they can learn from each other.

Hospital CFO Ms Zandi Madonsela passed a message of support and promised that they will support future initiatives.

The organisers thanked the awareness committee, autistic children and their families, Ngwee IT Solutions, for their sponsors, Michelle Badenhorst (AKA Signage), Tasmin Vally (RB Opticals) and the people who made the event a success.