As the world celebrated World Autism Awareness Day, Ilana Gershlowitz, director at The Star Academy, which provides tailor-made programmes for children with autism, criticised the government for its lack of support.
World Autism Awareness Day, which is observed on 2 April, is set aside to focus on autism and the children and families who live with the challenges of this condition.
The aim of the day is one of upliftment, creating awareness through informing the public about autism and its possible treatment. It also marks the start of World Autism Month.
Speaking on the day, Gershlowitz said the event united all autism-related organisations around the world, with each organisation doing something special to mark the day.
However, she called on the government to provide financial support and other resources to children with autism and their families. Gershlowitz said, “There is very little or no funding from government to support these children. Our academy would like to reach out to many children in disadvantaged areas but we need funding to do that.”
She also slammed the medical aid schemes in South Africa for not covering children with autism. Gershlowitz said, “They are wrong – autism is a medical condition which is treatable, we appeal to them to cover applied behavioural analysis and bio-medical intervention.”
Gerschlowitz, who has an autistic child, said there were limited resources in South Africa, and many autistic children with needs that were not met. “Services needed include speech, occupational therapies and sensory integration therapy.”
Her academy is an affiliate to The Centre for Autism and Related Disorders in USA which is a leader in autism treatment.
The academy’s senior therapist, Bianca Cassingena, said they wanted to educate the parents of autistic children to understand what autism is, and that there was treatment for it.
Autism is a developmental disorder characterised by severe deficits in social interaction and communication. Sufferers also show abnormal behaviour patterns, such as the repetition of specific movements or a tendency to focus on certain objects.
The academy uses techniques to bring significant behavioural changes in autistic children such as positive reinforcement, fostering basic skills such as eye contact, listening and behaviour imitation, as well as reading, communicating and being able to understand something from a different point of view.
Gershlowitz said, “Our main aim is to facilitate the children in overcoming their individual challenges and making them more functional and independent.”
Details: 011 440 7796; info@thestaracademy.co.za; www.thestaracademy.co.za
