His parents soon consulted a speech therapist that referred them to a pediatrician, who referred them to another pediatrician.

“It was scary, as we could not yet ascertain what was wrong with him. It was the second pediatrician who hinted that it might be autism. Then we went to the UK and there we got proper diagnosis.”

Chinyere Ibezime is a mother of one of the over one million persons living with autism in Nigeria. Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is “a complex pervasive developmental disorder; it is a lifelong developmental disability which affects the way a person communicates and relates with people around them.” In Nigeria however, not much is known of it yet and stigmatization of kids living with this condition makes it even more difficult to deal with.

“When eventually we got to the UK, me and my husband, and the doctor said my child was autistic, I was like ‘huh? What is that?’” And since then, the life of the young couple has totally changed. Mrs. Ibezime who is expecting a second baby continued: “I had to stop work to care for him because these kids need special attention. I began researching on the internet. So, I attend fully to our son while my husband fends for the family.”

Financial and emotional toll

While Mrs. Ibezime still has her husband with her, not so many mothers can boast of that. At the just concluded GTBank seminar on ASD which held in Lagos from the 23rd-24th of March, caregivers, therapists and parents of these kids had the chance to come together to share their experiences and seek help for the future.

“My daughter is now 11,” Calista Oshai said with a smile, the lines of fatigue forming a regular pattern on her visage. “Two years ago, her father walked out on us. He said he was fed up and could not take it anymore. Only this year did he start paying her fees again.” Same was the situation with Diden Sholaye whose husband not only walked away but has ceased from picking the bills of their child.

But caring for autistic children is not an anticipated chore. It is a responsibility thrust on one by nature. And the resources don’t flow freely. Mr. Ibezime revealed that averagely, in a month, she and her husband spend N200, 000 to cover, feeding, drugs, therapy and schooling for their child. “This is minus training we go for overseas and I can even tell you right now, my husband and I are in debt.”

For mothers who have now become single parents because of their autistic children, life seems doubly unfair. And they wish help will come from somewhere – the government maybe. “Nothing,” A woman said in one of the seminar session. “The government is not paying attention because they will tell you, ‘why should we budget for one autistic child, what would cost us 10 normal children?’”

The United Nations has said that for an under-developed nation like Nigeria, at least 26% of the country’s annual budget must go into education. And in a country where less than 10% of its annual budget goes to education, autism may not the priority. But Adeola Fayemi says, if Nigeria seeks to meet its developmental goals, attention must be paid to these children with special needs.

“If you do not cater for their needs now, they will eventually become dependent on the society for the rest of their lives. It will only enlarge a dependent class which is high already.” Dr. Fayemi used to be a teacher in an international school in Lagos until she left for the States, as part of Nigeria’s brain-drain generation, over a decade ago.

Today, she sits as the director, Education Policy, Florida Department of Education, Tallahassee. “The fact is theses children can lead a normal life, if this condition is diagnosed early and intervention is done,” she continues,” but the problem in Nigeria is that, we are not there yet in terms of diagnosis, intervention and education, so, in the end, you see that late intervention affects the development of the child.

Though Mrs. Sholaye hopes for intervention from above, she does have reasons to smile. “After rejection in about five schools, they finally accepted my daughter in the sixth and today, I can tell you, she is the best maths student in her class. But there is a great misconception in the society about the condition. Some people think the children are imbeciles, others brand them witches, and sometimes, in public places, when there is a trigger and the child begins to scream, people just don’t understand.”

Help is on the way

The GTBank Orange Ribbon Initiative was launched in 2010 as an umbrella theme for the bank’s effort to promote awareness and support for children with developmental disabilities within Nigeria.

Speaking on behalf of the bank’s management, the executive director Lagos operations, Titilayo Osuntoki, said through the initiative, the bank hopes to: “Encourage national discourse on autism, reawaken social consciousness about the plight and requirements of children living with developmental disabilities, encourage advocacy at all levels of government to create inclusive schools for affected children, and to support legislation seeking to protect the rights and provide support for people with developmental disabilities.” And those present at the event could only hope that other corporate organizations and individuals will also town the line the GTB brand has towed.

“It is the way to go,” Dr. Adeyemi says. “With early intervention come success stories. Their strong analytical and numerical skill can be of great benefit to our society, after all the Bill Gates we all talk about is autistic. Who knows, the next Bill Gates might come from Nigeria. But for that to happen, we must accept these people knowing that there is ability in every disability.”