A little background.
In South Africa the government have an inclusive educational policy. They also have State Special Schools - but where possible - children a catered for within the mainstream system. Obviously a lot of kids don't make it in mainstream - then they go to the special schools. Now special schools are not (by law) allowed to have criteria for admission - but what they do do - is to assess children & say - "Sorry - we don't have a programme for your child". From what I can gather - this is a regular occurrence & tends to happen to those young children who have no verbal communication & Autistic Spectrum Disorder.
So Whizz Kids is a day facility for non-verbal children. It caters for between 15 - 20 children. It is a beautiful building in a rural location - though resources are sparse. It is run solely on donations - is not funded at all by the government & families who want their child to attend must pay. If families can't pay & their child have been rejected by at a special school - they get nothing. Each group at the centre has about 6 - 8 children of various ages & almost all the young people I saw - had Autistic Spectrum Disorder.(A few had Cerebral Palsy) It is not a school as such - more like an old Social Educational Centre?
The only qualified "educator / teacher" is Deborah - the new principal. All the other facilitators are not qualified educators - some have barely had a basic education themselves.But what a bunch of dedicated folk. Truly great - I spent a lot of time today with Sarah who is one of the best group facilitators I have seen in a long time. Some years ago she did some in service training on IABA - and now is seen as a bit of an expert. She greeted me with enthusiasm & wanted to know everything I could possibly tell her. I spent 1/2 the day with her group & in particular was asked to consult for 2 children. A 14 year old boy who was noise sensitive & a 7 year old girl who is tactile defensive. Sarah hung on to my every word as gospel.
I found myself becoming a bit apprehensive giving advise without a thorough assessment - but while children can access specialists within the service - they can only do so if (1) - The parents want it. (2) - The parents can afford to pay extra on top of the regular fees. So I did what I could - gave some guidance & marvelled at the way Sarah listened so intently.
In between times - I supported a boy who had 3 tonic clonic seizures in 10 minutes. I was really quite concerned as he was lay on his back - was convulsing very intensely & no sooner had he come out of one seizure - he went into another. I asked if he was prescribed any rescue medication - but it would appear that he wasn't. And it would also appear that his doctor doesn't think he has epilepsy? I have been asked to write a description of what I witnessed to support the family in obtaining medical support. Although I was told that there are no Paediatric Neurologists in this area - so who knows how this boy & his family will access specialist epilepsy support / intervention.
The step father of twin boys aged 14 -0 who attend the centre came in today. He was watching how the Speech & Language Therapist was teaching the boys to wash their face. He had heard I was visiting & asked to meet with me. The family are really struggling. The boys mother has had a serious stroke - which has left him as the main caregiver to his wife & the twins. Consequently his business is about to fold & he is worried because thay can no longer afford the centre fees or the medication fees for the boys. He is trying to obtain a sponsor so that the boys can continue to attend Whizz Kids & get their medication. I anticipated that he may want to ask me specific questions - but he just wanted to tell his story. My heart broke for him - though I admire his determination greatly.
I had a great day - felt really valued & as well as spending the remainder of this week there - I hope to fit in a few more days at the end of my stay. In fact - I could work there for a month no problem - but alas - I have other commitments.
Will update you all at the end of the week.
2 comments:
hi kate glad to hear your settling in at work and in umdloti. good to hear steve and nita are looking after you. tell cynthia we were asking for her. david and lynne x
Hi there,
not all sun and fun then sweetie!!Must have been very hard talking with the guy with two lads and a sick wife, made me feel sad and teary just reading about it. Thank god our own kids will never know hardships like that, quess it puts our lives into perspective. Take it easy mate, dont go breaking your heart over there, am sending you a huge psychic hug, miss you zillions and you havent been gone a week yet xxx
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