While there was much pomp and ceremony at the opening of Parliament, there were other rich happenings last week, as we learned more about autism, discovered the wonderful Alston High School in Clarendon, and accompanied Champion Household Workers to King’s House.

On Wednesday, at the ‘Light it up blue – Autism Awareness at UWI’, we saw the power of parental love, youth and experience, private and public sector collaboration. Education Minister Senator Ruel Reid praised the parents who have had to bear virtually all the responsibility for their children’s challenges.

“As a society, we have not properly understood and treated with the condition of autism,” the minister noted. “The time has come for inclusivity.” He commended the work of the Jamaica Autism Support Association (JASA), who have been advocating for early testing of children so they can receive the appropriate guidance.

Professor Maureen Samms-Vaughan, Jamaica’s internationally respected developmental and behavioural paediatrician, walked us through the numbers that revealed autism as being more common than we realise. Using recent US statistics, she said that one in every 42 boys, and one in every 189 girls are affected by autism. She said this means it could be one boy in every primary school class and one girl in every school year.

How does autism present? She explained that signs include difficulty in communicating, not looking people in the eye, and repetitive behaviour. Children with autism may be hyper-sensitive to sound, touch, taste and smell. She noted that this was a spectrum disorder as there are autistic savants, for example the wealthy artist with Jamaican roots, Stephen Wiltshire, MBE.

Toni-Ann Tucker, exceptional needs coordinator at Liberty Academy (at the former Priory High School location), told us, “The most interesting people I have met have autism.” She describes her approach as “operating in autism time — twice as much time, half as much done”, because her focus is on the child. She says, despite her training, she has to keep learning as “special education is dynamic”. It is important, she notes, to “manage the behaviour, not blame the behaviour”. Thank goodness for teachers like Ms Tucker.

We then heard from the parent of a child with autism, Dr Gale Ford. Her son was diagnosed early, and she told us, “I held my baby and promised him to do my best to make him a functional member of society.” She was blessed with a loving caregiver who actually offered to accompany the child to pre-school. After an attempt at home-schooling, her son was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and with treatment was able to attend a regular school. He is now 13 years old and will next year be at a new stage in his life, when skills training will be a consideration.

The students of Chancellor Hall, Block X and the UWI Chorale have been reaching out generously to JASA, raising considerable sums to help promote awareness. It did our hearts proud to see the interest of these bright young students. Kudos to JASA co-founder Kathy Chang, who honoured Lome Hvass of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Digicel Foundation, Wisynco, and the UWI students for their unstinting support.

ALSTON HIGH’S GREENHOUSE

The two-hour trip to Alston, Clarendon, just beyond Spaldings, took us to the beautiful Alston High School where they showed us their flourishing new greenhouse. The students were impeccably uniformed and welcoming, and the speeches by Chairman Eric Green and Principal Headley Cross inspiring and to the point.

The best part of being chairman of the Digicel Foundation, which has been sponsoring several of these greenhouses, is that I am constantly reminded of the resourcefulness of fellow Jamaicans who just need that extra boost to create something wonderful.

Despite challenges with water supply, the school has answered with what they describe as their ‘climate change initiative’, harvesting rainwater and using drip irrigation and precisely applied nutrients to their first set of seedlings which arrived last November. In the few short months since then, they have reaped 995 pounds of tomatoes and 559 pounds of sweet peppers from their greenhouse.

Clearly Alston High has great leadership in Cross and Vice-Principal Latty-Johnson; the grounds are attractive and the students courteous. Cross reminded us that agriculture “is a major platform for national growth”, and so his school is proud of the results gained by students of agricultural science. Their greenhouse assists with their Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate practicum, supplies their canteen and raises funds for the school through sales.

CHAMPION HOUSEHOLD WORKERS

The 2015 GraceKennedy Champion Household Worker Rosetta Steer and runners-up Jasmin Miller, Donna Elizabeth Smith, and Jamaica Household Workers Union President Shirley Pryce were warmly received at King’s House last Friday by Governor General Sir Patrick Allen. The company’s Communications Director Simone Clarke-Cooper and Executive Chef Mazie Miller accompanied the second set of winners, who demonstrated not only good housekeeping skills, but care and concern for their communities.

The governor general observed that household workers were invaluable to our productivity. He said that the busiest of people, including those in leadership positions, look forward to returning to their homes at the end of the day. He remarked that it was because of dedicated household workers that made many of us able to enjoy an orderly home. I mentioned that the sacrifices made by Fanny Ricketts, our family’s household worker of blessed memory, inspired me to propose this award, which was readily embraced by GraceKennedy.

Nominated by the two diplomats for whom she does housekeeping, the dignified Rosetta Steer used some of her $350,000 prize money to complete her course in practical nursing. “It is hard to work and study,” she said, “but with prayer I am getting there.” Jasmin Miller is winding up her City & Guilds course in housekeeping, while mentoring children in her Spanish Town community. Donna Elizabeth Smith was nominated by media maven Fae Ellington, her next door neighbour, who noted her devotion as caregiver to a 103-year-old lady.

WELL DONE, RICHARD POWELL

It was a rainy evening, but nothing would keep away the scores of colleagues and friends who gathered at Hope Gardens to wish outgoing VMBS President Richard Powell a long and happy retirement. The tributes spoke of an extraordinary leader who revitalised and expanded the financial house, while showing care and compassion for its workforce. Highly qualified in engineering and management, Richard has served in various roles in the public and private sectors, all with distinction and drive. His beloved wife Mary, who passed away in 2014, was deeply missed, but happily three of his daughters were present and participated movingly in the proceedings. Good luck to Courtney Campbell, to whom Richard passed the baton — literally.

lowriechin@aim.com

www.lowrie-chin.blogspot.com