AUTISM Awareness month is celebrated in April annually, and it brings to light the great need for an increase in awareness and attention.
This year is no exception as it is celebrated under the theme, ‘Transforming the Narrative: Contributions at Home, Work, in the Arts and Policymaking.’

Early Childhood Services (ECS), a newly opened centre that zooms in on children with autism was officially launched at its 6 Duncan Street, Campbellville, Georgetown location, earlier this month, in honour of this year’s activities.

The centre provides screening for autism, autism intervention services and autism parent support groups, in addition to providing training services to teachers in mainstream schools.
Rosanne Farley is an Autism Consultant and the founder of ESC. She told this newspaper, during a recent interview, that her interest in autism started when her daughter was diagnosed in 2010 – time when there were no services available to help her child cope with the developmental disorder.

“There was just nowhere to go. There was no information out there so I was forced to do the work…to get all the information, to figure out how to work with her. So I attended every training programme that I could, every workshop. I did studies online, everything.”

Farley worked with her daughter consistently, ensuring she progressed. Because she can relate to other parents whose child may be autistic, she decided to use all that she learnt over the years to help parents, teachers, and most importantly, children with autism to thrive.

According to her, ECS was started to generally meet the needs of children with autism, “but more so children in mainstream schools who are on the spectrum, because very often what we find is that children with moderate to mild autism can go to a mainstream school, but they may need additional support, interventions and so on.”

Farley expressed that, very often, parents are reluctant to seek the therapy their child/ children may need in the Special Needs Schools. As a result, Farley saw it necessary to create a space that would be suitable for children in mainstream schools as well.

“Not that I only cater to those children, but I do have them specifically in mind when creating the Centre,” she explained.
The training for teachers provides them with strategies they can implement in the classroom to help children on the autistic spectrum.

“Additionally, I also intend to start a vibrant, and impactful parent support group, because, as far as I’m aware, we do not have a parent support group; at least not with the vision I have in mind, how I would like it to function. Parents do need to have a place where they can share their challenges and successes, and be inspired to go and so on,” Farley said.

For Autism Awareness month, Farley said the ECS has reached out to certain entities to provide sensitisation sessions, one of them being the Georgetown Nursing School, and the Josel Education Institute.

She affirmed that more must be done to bring awareness to autism in Guyana. Farley said autism is a wide spectrum; however, there are many common symptoms that a parent or guardian should notice. This includes poor eye contact and unresponsiveness to their names being called. A child can also be very aloof, have restricted interest, repetitive behaviours, and may prefer solitary play, just to list a few.

At present, Farley works with six children daily, in addition to training and consulting with other persons who require her services.

On May 18, 2024, ECS will be conducting its second one-day training session for teachers in mainstream classrooms.

ECS can be contacted at 592-622-4201, or email ecservices.guyana@gmail.com and on Facebook, Early Childhood Services.