Shining a light on autism

World Autism Month should be seen as a gift to those who want to bring awareness to the challenges associated with the disorder.

Tracey Knight-Loyd, who has been working diligently over the years with her son Ade who has Autism, says she is all about educating and encouraging acceptance.

“This day is a gift to all of us who are living with people who have autism. I don’t think people realize the genesis of the day, this day was designated by the United Nations as a day to celebrate autism. The UN recognizes that if we did not cater to persons living with autism it would be a retrograde step to global development,” she said on Saturday.

With autism cases on the rise globally and a new statistics by the Barbados Council of the Disabled noting that one in 68 children will be diagnosed with autism, Knight-Loyd added that the day is significant not only for the UN but also to drive acceptance for persons living with autism worldwide.

“This is a day we celebrate and we are grateful to shine the light on autism,” she said.

On Saturday President of the Autism Association of Barbados Frank Johnson led a team to Sheraton in Sargeants Village for the launch of an educational campaign

“We spoke to passersby about what the disability is about and in fact we bumped into three people who knew people who were all on the spectrum or had children on the spectrum. That shows that there are people who we didn’t know about and we made some arrangements to meet with them at our other functions we have upcoming for this month,” he said.

For the vision of the association, Johnson said his goal is to make the public aware, to offer advice and counseling about the disability.

“It can be puzzling and frustrating for parents and for the child – it’s giving advice and education and all of these things are given free from parents who have children on the spectrum,” he added.

The father, who cares for a 30-year-old son who has autism, said he saw him grow up from three-years-old to 33 and has years of experience to share with new parents on the impact of autism. (MR)