GUYANA Greenheart Autistic Society (GGAS) began, as promised, to offer classroom space for autistic children on Monday, with the aim of their receiving the attention they need to realise their full potential.
GGAS Chair, Mrs. Glynis Beaton, told the Guyana Chronicle that nine of the autism victims are currently accessing services at Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre in Carmichael Street, but will be moved to the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) headquarters, on Brickdam, also in Georgetown, soon.
“We have renovations ongoing. So, as soon as the contractors are finished, the children will move over to the YWCA,” she explained.
The school is expected to conduct two sessions, one in the mornings from 08:30h to 12:30h, to focus on teaching different skills, and a one hour session in the afternoons to address therapy.
Beaton said to support the cost of engaging tutors, as well as for the operations, parents are being asked to pay a fee of $15,000 a month per child. But to facilitate those who might not be able to afford the other sessions, the afternoon therapy is being made available at $4,000 monthly.
However, Beaton said the challenge persisting now is the stigma that is causing parents to hide away their autistic children.
“Autism is a taboo for some parents,” she remarked, disclosing that an awareness campaign is planned to sensitise not only parents, but the general public, to what is autism really.
Beaton said GGAS will take things one step at a time to ensure that afflicted children are able to access the services they need to develop as individuals.
She said the GGAS facilitates a support group which meets once a month, but noted that, even with this initiative, some parents, because of the stigma, attend once and do not return.
“Autistic children have rights,” emphasized Beaton, who also has an autistic teenaged daughter.
On a more personal note, she said hiding the girl is not a consideration, even in  “down moments” that all parents will have when they address the needs of such an offspring.
“Personally, I offer my apologies to those who have a problem; but I believe autistic children have the potential to do more, once they receive the attention they need,” Beaton maintained.
Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others.
It is defined by a certain set of behaviours and is a “spectrum disorder” that affects individuals differently and to varying degrees. There is no known single cause for autism, which is also called Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD).
All these disorders are characterised by varying degrees of impairment in communication skills, social interactions and restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behaviour.
However, early diagnosis and treatment programmes are crucial to the improvement and progress of a child affected by autism and the general concurrence is that, with assistance, autistic children are able to learn to maximise skills and achieve their full potential.
There is no cure for autism and children do not outgrow it; but treatment can lead to significantly improved outcomes in their lives.