A child with disabilities, still a great gift

She pleaded with the founder of the Zamarr Institute, Khadija Oluronke Katagun to help her seven year old boy who according to her was diagnosed with Down syndrome.Her words, “I am sorry I had to remove him before because we moved houses, but I see that taking him to a regular school is not helping […]

She pleaded with the founder of the Zamarr Institute, Khadija Oluronke Katagun to help her seven year old boy who according to her was diagnosed with Down syndrome.
Her words, “I am sorry I had to remove him before because we moved houses, but I see that taking him to a regular school is not helping him, all the progress he made before is quick disappearing.
Banze speaking on her experience with her son, said it has not been easy, recounting it with tear laden eyes, she said, “Nothing was rediscovered when I was pregnant, even when I gave birth the baby was healthy.
“It was only when he started growing that I noticed his slow progress, not able to crawl at the right time, his speech not forth coming and other things that he was supposed to do at his age which he was not doing.
“But as a mother you feel the pain and you will do everything to help his progress in life”.
Dr Olutosin Kuti, Child Survival and Development Manager at the UNICEF office Enugu in a presentation on “Health and Disability”, said that over 600 million persons live with disabilities worldwide.
According to him this alarming figure was quickly increasing due to rapid population growth, increased aging population, malnutrition, AIDS, war injuries and accidents.
Kuti said, “80% of people with disabilities especially child population, live is low-income countries and growing faster in Africa than any other continent while poverty limits access to basic health care.
“Socio-economic inequality significantly increases disability and cultural beliefs impact acceptance while increased violence in the home, community and country are major causes of increase disability”.
However Kuti explained that the story is not all sad as preventive measures could be put in place to reduce the spate of disability such as polio, Down syndrome and cerebral palsy.
Other disabilities are caused by “genetic and chromosomal defects which are muscular dystrophy, sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, cystic fibrosis, deafness, blindness while teratogenic causes include fetal alcohol syndrome, syphilis, rubella and herpes.
“Prematurity and pregnancy complications could result into neurological conditions, cerebral palsy, vision or hearing loss while acquired causes could cause traumatic brain injury (TBI), meningitis”.
Speaking on the preventive measures, Kuti explained that interventions such as immunizations, access to health care for pregnant women especially antenatal, having specialized birth attendee’s during delivery and breast feeding exclusively for six months could do the trick.
He lamented that most women unfortunately fail to access care or refuse to go for antenatal which is unfortunately is partly responsible for child disabilities.
He however said that having a child with disability is not a life sentence or a curse because a lot of persons with disability have lived to have successful careers and lives with assistance from professional care givers.
The founder of Zamarr Institute, Khadija Oluronke Katagun speaking on such professional care says that such children need more attension and care to reach their maximum potential.
According to her these children do better in smaller settings, especially if they are interacted with one on one, and if the care giver or if the teacher spends alot of time with the child to help him reach his potential.
She said, “In a regular school the teacher is unable to spend the required time needed to help the child because of the presence of other children, but the child’s situation is further compounded by the neglect from his parents.
“I always remind people that when you see one child with autism, you have seen one child with autism. It is not when you have seen one you have seen them all. It is not the same.
“They will do well with one-on-one therapy. Behaviourally, they are usually not so bad. Many parents of children who come here are focused on speech, ‘my child is not talking, I want my child to talk’ and you can’t guarantee any parent their child will talk in one week, month or year. But at least give the child the opportunity to be taught in a way he will learn. Children have their own pace of learning. Same thing happens in children with special needs”.
She continued, “Parents expect a miracle—their child to walk, talk. They have brought their child and expect you to make them do what they haven’t been able to do. It is difficult for some parents to accept it doesn’t work that way. I often try to tell them it is a partnership. They have to continue at home what we are doing here.
“I usually recommend that parents interact with each other because their expectations are usually high”.

Katagun said that though alot of time is required to help children with special needs being around regular kids would go along way in helping the child as he would strive to do and learn what they are doing.
Professor Pai Obanya an education specialist explains it better, for him our response to these children is not necessary to isolate, institutionalise, abandon or neglect them which he says is actually the problem.
He added that a commitment to the rights of children with disability is required which should include rectifying the, “Convention of the rights of the child; Convention of the rights of persons with disability”.
“A radical shift from exclusion to inclusion, as well as from invisibility to visibility, children are full members of society and are unique individuals entitled to be respected and consulted so those with disabilities should not be regarded and treated as recipients of charity,” he said.
According to him a change of attitude is earnestly needed if the country is to harness the potentials of these beautiful children who are a gift to the world if proper assistance is offered to them.