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Jul 11, 2014 News
Applied Behaviour Analysis, commonly referred to as ABA, is a teaching approach for Autistic children which is said to have extensive scientific support and has been shown to be extremely effective for children with Autism.
This disclosure has been outlined by Dr James Ellis, a Clinical Psychologist and Autism Consultant attached to The Step by Step School for children with Autism, which takes full advantage of the ABA approach.
The Step by Step School currently serves a small group of children and is funded completely through donations of money, resources, and time.
Dr Ellis, who is based in the United States, and has been coming to Guyana for the past six years, in a letter to this publication disclosed that while there are several different private schools that are working to serve children with Autism in Guyana, there is need for increased awareness and understanding.
The Clinical Consultant, who was at the time responding to an editorial published in the June 30 edition of this newspaper, alluded to the need for Government, through the Ministry of Education, to provide more specialized support for children with Autism.
“It is true, as suggested by the author of the Editorial, that there is not currently any government support for the services provided by The Step by Step School. However, the First Lady (Mrs. Deolatchmie Ramotar) has visited The Step by Step School and has expressed her support of our efforts.”
And according to Dr Ellis, “It is the hope of the staff, volunteers, and parents of The Step by Step School to be able to work with the Ministry of Education, or other government agencies, to assist with more effectively identifying and diagnosing Autism, and with helping to ensure that every child with Autism in Guyana is able to receive an appropriate and effective education.”
Dr Ellis explained that Autism, now formally referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorder, is a neurological disorder characterized by impairments in social communication and interaction and the presence of restricted or repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, or activities.
He pointed out that common early signs of Autism include limited eye contact, failure to respond to name being called, no words by 16 months, no pointing or using other gestures, and repetitive movements of the body.
He noted too that while there have been a number of different incident rates reported from different countries, the latest incident rate reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is one in 68 children.
“To my knowledge, there are no available incidence rates of Autism in Guyana, and in my experience, most of the children with Autism that I have met do not have a formal diagnosis,” Dr Ellis asserted.
Nevertheless, he noted that although it is very scary and confusing for a Guyanese parent to know what to do if they suspect that their child might have Autism, increased awareness and understanding of Autism in Guyana could help them cope.
“Thanks to the efforts of a number of local parents and volunteers, as well as the First Lady, awareness of Autism in Guyana has increased,” Dr Ellis observed.
This past April, in recognition of World Autism Day and Autism Awareness Month, the First Lady hosted a Light up Blue Vigil on April 2, where approximately 100 participants were in attendance. And then on April 6, there were well over a 100 persons in attendance for an Autism Awareness Walk hosted by the First Lady.
Such moves, according to Dr Ellis, “are small steps, but important steps towards Autism being recognized and understood by both professionals and the Guyanese community.”
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