HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 30TH OF JUNE INTEREVIEW WITH A SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATOR ON AUTISM.

Below are the highlights of the 30th of June Interview with a special needs educator on Autism.

Angel (Interviewer): My name is Angel Adetula and today we would be interviewing a Special needs educator who teaches children living with autism. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. With me, I have Ms. Itunu from the Patrick Speech and Languages center which she’ll tell us more about. Can you introduce yourself, ma’am?

Ms. Itunu: My name is Ms. Itunuoluwa, I am an Educational therapist and I work at Patrick Speech and Languages Center, a center for Children living with Autism and other developmental disorders.

Angel (Interviewer): Thank you. I invited you here today because we want to focus our interview on Autism and I know that you have had a lot of experience teaching children living with autism. I also had the opportunity of volunteering under you for about seven months before the Covid-19 pandemic (…). Is the school still functioning during this period?

Ms. Itunu: Yes, the school is going on via online sessions so we have few of our parents who volunteered (agreed) to continue their children’s education through online classes which we have been doing successfully well.

Angel (Interviewer): Oh, ok, can you just expatiate on how works because I know that most of the classes are activity based so how do they work now that it’s been shifted online?

Ms. Itunu: You’re right. However, though our children are more into activity-based works (classes), there are few things that we can do online, plus we give tips to the parents so that they would be able to work along their children. As for the online classes, we do occupational therapy, attention skill-building classes, speech therapy and other classes that our children are able to benefit from.

(…)

Angel (Interviewer): Why did you decide to take up this line of work teaching children with developmental disorders?

Ms. Itunu: During my undergraduate days, I studied primary education studies at University of Ilorin and there was a course called Developmental psychology, which was taught by one of our lecturers who taught it with the experience of her own child that had developmental disorder (I can’t remember which). She really took the explanation in a way that it felt real. Later on, I discovered that while I loved teaching, I felt unaccomplished, (..) like I was not making an impact. Then I recalled how much I loved the course (Developmental psychology) and that I wanted to learn more and focus my teaching on these kids (living with developmental disabilities). Later on, someone said, “How would you find them? How would you know where they are? How would you be able to teach them?” (…) However, I discovered Patrick Speech and Language center. Funny enough, we had always had their calendars in our house but I never knew what they did. So, I contacted them and that’s how I ended up working there.

Angel (Interviewer): That’s great. Patrick is a great center, the very first center certified by the IBCCES for autism. I also wanted to talk about the misconceptions of autism, especially in Nigeria where it is regarded as a taboo or hushed topic. Has there been parents with misconceptions on autism at Patrick?

Ms Itunu: Well, not really because when Parents bring their children here ( Patrick Speech and Language Center), most of their children have already undergone some sort of diagnosis so they are most times well informed on Autism. However, few might refuse to come back after their child has been evaluated with Autism with the thought that “No, it can’t be my child” and such.

Angel (Interviewer): Thank you ma’am. However, I read online, on a survey, that most Nigerians still deny the existence of Autism or would rather not talk about it. Why do you think that is?

Ms. Itunu: I believe that it’s because of our mentality. Something that does not look normal to us, seems to be abnormal, like a curse. So, when we see something that doesn’t look like others, we tend to be like “No, it can never be for me”. So, we reject things immediately, even without learning what it si. Some that even know might not want to accept because they don’t want to face the truth about their child. And as autism does not even have a cure, it cares many parents. (…)

Angel (Interviewer): Yes, I agree. Some people would rather deny the truth than face it. I also want to talk about some key signs which children living with autism might display. I know in Patrick’s Speech and Language center offers an evaluation program to diagnose children with autism. Can you tell us how that works?

Ms. Itunu: Yes, we look at the behavior of the child. For instance, the social interaction between the child and other children. If the child refuses to partake in activities with the other children and would rather sit by himself, alone, that is a sign. Also, if the child has any socially inappropriate behaviors, like biting him/herself or biting someone else. Or having incessant talking, like saying some words consistently or using ‘big grammars’ that they don’t actually understand but picked up on TV. Some (children) might not like noise and they tend to cover their ears, which takes us to the sensory aspect. In the speech aspect, some children go through delay in their speech but they would be able to understand you. We also look out for those who can’t concentrate or lose concentration very easily. Some also don’t like to eat while others like to eat. We also look at the occupational therapy aspect, which has to do with the functional life of a child (the daily living activities a child does), like brushing of teeth, combing of air, putting on of cloth, putting on of shoes, taking them off and so on. So, these are just some of the few things we look out for. We use this to figure out what type of intervention the child would be needing.

Angel (Interviewer): Yes, I was also able to read online that autism affects people in two main domains: Social communication and Repetitive patterns of behavior. Now, we know that autism is a lifelong disorder. Can you please emphasize on why we should begin intervention for children living with autism early?

Ms. Itunu: That’s a great question. Now, it has been said that autism is not a disability, it’s a neurodevelopmental disorder. Diagnosis is best done at 24 months because the brain has a higher level of plasticity because it still forming so the child is more receptive to the intervention. (…)

Angel (Interviewer): (…) Could you explain why it is that we call autism a spectrum disorder? A lot of people have sent in questions about that.

Ms. Itunu: Autism spectrum disorder is a range. We have classic autism which we have talked about; then Asperger’s syndrome which is when they have words, they use their words, but they don’t have social skills; and finally, the Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD NOS), this is when the child is having other challenges that do not fit within the autism bracket like Epilepsy, but the child also has some autistic behaviors. (…)

Angel (Interviewer): Thank you so much. We’ve actually gone through all of my questions so we would be taking some from our viewers now. (…) One viewer asked, “What is the hardest part of teaching children who have autism?”

Ms. Itunu: It varies based on the reaction the children are giving you. For instance, they might not respond to you and if the child has a learning disability like dyslexia, it becomes more difficult to teach the child. But it gets easier once you know what type of intervention the child needs and it gets easier to work with him/her.

Angel (Interviewer): Another question that just came in is that how does working there daily with the children affect you personally? How does it inspire you?

Ms. Itunu: Before you can work with children with special needs, or means you already have a passion for teaching because if the passion is not there, you wouldn’t be motivated. Working with these kids, I am more aware that the world is not perfect. Children living with developmental disorders are not deformed nor did they decide to be like that, therefore we need to accept them in the society. These children are sensitive and are able to read your moods. They would know if you shun them or feel disgraced by them, so we need that love to be spread all around. I get inspired when I see children who were not able to talk, speaking, or (children who could not) use a spoon to eat, to eat on their own; or, when a child transfers from the center to a regular school successful. It is a joyful thing and it motivates me as a teacher. It shows your (my) impact.

Angel (Interviewer): We only have time for just one question but you can leave your question in the chat box with your email and we would forward the answers to you. The final question asks “Why do some autistic children bite themselves when they are angry?”

Ms. Itunu: It’s not exactly that they bite themselves when they are angry. There are a lot of reasons why the kids bite themselves. It could be that they are teething and they enjoy the feeling; or that that is the only way they feel that they can communicate their emotions; and it is also possible that that activity stimulates them. But it is a socially inappropriate behavior so it should be stopped.

Angel (Interviewer): Thank you ma’am so much. This has been a really informative session. For those that came late, the highlights would be posted on the YICA blog. You would see the site address in the chat bar. Thank you everyone for attending. We are out of time now. I hope everyone has a good day.

END.