FIRST Lady Sandra Granger on Thursday paid a visit to the Step by Step Foundation’s school for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) located on the East Bank Public Road, Bagotstown, to get a first-hand look at its operations.

Eighteen children from ages three to 14 are enrolled in the school.

The first lady interacted warmly with the children and participated in their morning activities, which included “Circle” sessions during which they counted, sang nursery rhymes and other songs designed to boost their communication skills.

Chairperson of the foundation, Dr Suraiya Ismail, was pleased to welcome the first lady to the school.

“Most important of all [we] welcome her here as patron and to show her how we manage the children, because it is a very individualised programme and she is going around [the classrooms] seeing the different aspects of it,” she said.

The foundation opened its school in September, 2011.

On April 2, the first lady joined the Foundation and Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited, in their annual ‘Light it up Blue’ Autism Awareness Walk aimed at raising funds for the construction of a new school at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara. (Ministry of the Presidency)