Parents of Autistic children face a huge challenge

MBOMBELA – Parents of autistic children face a huge challenge when it comes to accessing proper health care for them.

This harsh reality came to light at the first autism awareness day held last week at the Mbombela Municipality Civic Theatre.
Ms Patricia Fakude who has an autistic child, lamented how health workers treat her and her four-year-old son every time she took him to the clinic or hospital.
“My child behaves differently from other children and even after telling the nurses about his condition, they still don’t have patience with him.

As a result I have to take his temperature before we get to the clinic as nurses feel they can not handle him because he is too active for them,” she stated.
Fakude explained that she felt the government was not doing enough in terms of educating the health workers and the community at large about this condition, which was regarded by many as a curse.
Other parents complained that in Mpumalanga,medication was not available in public hospitals and clinics. They also had to take their children to other provinces to be assessed by neurologists, as the provincial government has few doctors trained in dealing with autism.

This section of the community is being marginalised as it also cannot access social grants.
Another challenge raised by Fakude was that there were not enough schools in the province to cater for the special needs of these children.
Statistically, there are about 13 737 such children in Mpumalanga, yet it appears that only about 38 (0,3 per cent) are enrolled in any form of school, with few than 15 in Mbombela.
According to Autism South Africa’s representative, Ms Mary Moeketsi,this is an appalling and devastating situation.
She stated that the association was doing its utmost to help provide affordable and accessible services across the entire country, but they cannot achieve anything meaningful without the support of the relevant government departments.
Speaking on behalf of the mayoral committee, Ms Busi Mdluli said the municipality would in future prioritise creating awareness in communities, and at health facilities and schools.
“We are prepared to conduct campaigns and observe this day each year as this will help reduce the stigma associated with this condition,” she concluded.