Faces of autism
NO parent wants to hear that the precious child they carried for nine months will have complications.
In fact, most new mothers and seasoned mommies will share that on each visit to the gynaecologist during their pregnancy they secretly behaved calm and collected, but really hoped silently, sometimes nervously, that all was well.
And for Shelly-Ann Ebanks, mother of two, it was no different. In fact, she shared that when her younger son Jaden took longer to speak than his peers, her husband and her chalked it up to something normal that would eventually happen as not all children develop at the same pace.
“He tended to be absorbed in his picture books and we really didn’t pay much attention to it. He eventually spoke coherently, but whilst his classmates were putting two or three sentences together, he was just speaking in broken sentences. He was overly active and again, we chalked it up to him being a ‘growing, energetic boy’. His behaviour was at times difficult to manage as he would try to run off when in public, hit other children unprovoked, and fail to follow instructions. It posed a challenge during his early childhood years as he would not want to participate in class activities, do work or sit when required to do so. But amazingly, he could recall and illustrate in great detail all the concepts taught in class, draw maps, flags and other diagrams from memory. On the advice of a friend, we decided to have him assessed,” she said.
It was at the end of this assessment that Ebanks said her worst fears were realised when the doctors arrived at a diagnosis and informed her that her younger child had autism.
“I was crestfallen and tears began to flow. No parent wants to hear that their child is “abnormal” in any way; we tend to have very high hopes and aspirations for our children and anything which seeks to derail our plans for them can be quite worrying. For weeks I cried constantly and was depressed. I had some (but very limited) knowledge about autism and many questions dominated my mind — ‘How will he learn?’, ‘How will people treat him?’, ‘How will he cope as an adult?’ and most importantly, ‘What were my viable schooling options?’ The doctor who completed his assessment made it quite clear that she did not think that public primary schools were an option.
“My husband and I are both public sector workers and private schooling in Jamaica is generally not cheap. During my weeks of constant crying and reflection on my pregnancy — surely it must have been something I ate, medication I took that caused this — my husband, O’Neil, sprang into action and gathered information and set up schedules for Jaden. Inspired by this, I also sought information and implemented strategies to help him relate better with others and his environment. Thankfully, I found a school which practises differentiated instruction and has small classes to cater to his particular needs,” Ebanks said.
Today Ebanks shared that Jaden, now eight years old, has adjusted very well at school and is excelling in his studies.
Most importantly, Ebanks said she and her family have seen marked improvement in Jaden’s social skills due to constant work both at home and at school.
“He, like most children, is a work-in-progress and we are at all times gathering information to help us make decisions to help him. We do not view autism as a disease; people who are autistic simply process information and deal with situations differently from others. Therefore he goes to school with ‘normal’ children, learns the same concepts, and participates in extracurricular activities. Our extended family has embraced his condition and are very supportive of his interests which are aviation, science (anatomy in particular), and geographical concepts,” she shared.
She added: “In these areas, he has high-school level knowledge and is able to apply concepts correctly, sometimes with photographic detail. We have been fortunate that even our work colleagues take interest in his development and always give advice and materials to assist him to reach his full potential. Many people in the wider society are not aware that there are various degrees to autism and sometimes mistake some behaviours as being ‘rude’. ”
Ebanks, a trained teacher, hopes to pursue studies in special education commencing next academic year to help other students like her son.
“We have encountered some negative issues in dealing with autism as it is very costly to access quality schooling; there is also limited assistance from the Government, and I find that general teacher preparation programmes lack enough courses to prepare teachers to effectively manage students with autism,” she said, adding that there is also need for more parental assistance in the form of support groups, local seminars to provide parents with the tools to help their children, and also moral support to ease the burdens associated with the different characteristics inherent to the condition. There is a great need for more support when the students with autism get to high school and college.
Ebanks also mentioned that while her husband is more patient, engages Jaden a lot and monitors him in most of his activities, their older son Jared, 12, has been very understanding and supportive.
“He understands his brother and tries to be patient with him. He really is a great brother especially when right and wrong have to be explained to Jaden over and over,” she said.
Ebanks maintained that from this she wants to encourage parents with autistic children, and those without, to be aware of their peculiarities and to treat them with respect.
