Catholic autism centre reprieves poor families in Laikipia

Parents with autistic children in Laikipia County have been reprieved after the Catholic Church established a special centre in Nanyuki town.

It offers speech and occupational therapy, and has the biggest sensory room in the country to help beneficiaries regulate their emotions and engage with the world around them in a controlled and comforting environment.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by difficulties in communication and interaction, a need for predictability, sensory processing differences, focused interests and repetitive behaviours.

Nyeri Catholic archbishop Anthony Muheria said St Thorlak Tumaini autism centre will cater to the many families struggling to support children with autism.

According to the Autism Society of Kenya, autism affects about four per cent of the Kenyan population, approximately 2.2 million people, with one out of 25 children being born with the condition.

“We have seen many families struggling to handle what’s happening to their autistic children, especially the delayed learning or speech, and their hyperactivity,” the archbishop said.

Poor families, Muheria added, are more disadvantaged in dealing with autistic children due to a lack of resources that make it difficult to care for them.

The centre was constructed with the contributions of church members and other benefactors with the aim of providing treatment for autistic children while reprieving their parents.

Muheria said with therapy, autistic children can become productive members of society and lead normal lives.

Autistic children with mobility challenges will undergo hydrotherapy to help them build their muscle strength and improve their walking.

“We have been able to do all these thanks to the generosity of Christians and other people who have contributed towards this centre,” Muheria said.

He challenged Kenyans to embrace children born with disabilities, saying they have the capacity to blossom with proper support.

“We call it a disability but in autism, it’s a delay in learning that is often compensated with great skills and abilities in other areas”.

He however noted that failure to address the condition in good time and giving the children the chance to learn would subject them to a life of dependency.

“With therapy, these children are able to blossom, speak, and sharpen the skills that God has given them and support themselves”.

He said a number of professionals in various fields are autistic and would not have achieved their skills had they not been supported and taken through therapy.

Susan Gachara, a parent to an eight-year-old autistic boy, narrated her shock upon realising that her son had the condition.

She had not heard of the disorder and assumed her child’s delayed speech was normal.

“When doctors told me that he was autistic, I went through denial because I didn’t know what that was,” she said.

The situation was worsened by the doctors’ insistence that autism could not be managed using drugs and he had to undergo therapy. 

Gachara researched the condition to understand how to manage it. It is expensive for many parents as she pays Sh2,000 weekly for an hour-long therapy.

“With this centre, we are very happy that the financial burden has been lifted from our shoulders. It will help many children who had a limited chance to realise their potential,” she said.