I had an uncle who used to stay with my grandmother (his mom) upcountry back in the day. Those days, going upcountry was an adventure in itself! Boarding the train second class with food in tins till Kisumu, the rackety bus ride all the way to Jera and the final drive to my grandmother’s arms, my grandfather’s eccentrics and adventures with all the relatives in the boma (somehow all people in your boma and all neighbouring bomas were your relaz).
Back to my uncle, he used to scare us shitless and being the tactless children we were we would always run away from him the moment we saw him. Because we didn’t understand him, he didn’t fit the normal adult mould that we were used to. Always randomly walking about, mumbling to himself, sometimes being a nuisance to grandma and he wouldn’t offer us any goodies ( Those days it was absolutely mandatory for an adult to offer us some “tamu-tamus” .Kwani what else were we there for but to be spoilt silly?)
You see, my uncle Thomas was mentally challenged, something I just couldn’t grasp at the time. Of course as I grew older I became sensitized and well aware of the fact. However my grandmother loved him. She loved him to the point of ensuring he got his own house and had a wife to take care of him. Plus am positive that in his lucid moments he loved her too, was closest to her and was probably grateful for all that she did. My uncle passed away a few years back and it’s only recently that I started trying to analyse his condition, using my faulty memory and word of mouth (my father).
According to my dad he was okay the first few years of his life, just a bit withdrawn sometimes. Then somewhere in primary he started having fits in school. They became frequent and unpredictable, which I think must have caused neural damage. So he became withdrawn and slowly his education wasn’t that much prioritized. Back then there wasn’t much information on epilepsy management and being “different” was therefore disadvantageous to anyone. So Tom had the unlucky childhood of being picked on by peers, kind of shunned by his brothers and tolerated by his father. I’m not saying they didn’t love him; they just didn’t understand it and know how to deal with it. His mother had the right idea: love and acceptance, therefore helping him live a normal life as much as possible. My dad always says if he had been borne at this day and age, he probably would have heard a much better life, because of the availability of more resources, both monetary and medical.
I recently found out one of my first cousins, a boy, is autistic. Autism is strongly suspected to be genetic. His mom had to leave her job to take care of him, (none of their house-helps could handle him). With the amount of knowledge available in this era, my aunt is better placed to take care of him with positive results. Thank God her husband is supportive and I hear my cousin is doing well, of course there are good days and bad days, but they take it one day at a time. I hope to see him soon.
Autism has always interested me, even before I knew of its involvement in my family. Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behaviour. The signs usually present before the child turns three. Early intervention can help autistic children gain self-care, social and communication skills. Since there is no cure (because its cause and mechanism is still not really understood), most parents and caregivers rely on nutritional management. They need a gluten and casein free diet to calm their hyper activeness. A calmer child is then able to gain more in social integration and education. For more information see www.autismsocietyofkenya.org
With the medical degree that I’m working hard towards, am hoping it will open doors for me to be able to undertake in autism research. To be able to enter a different world that I’m not used to. Where people mistake withdrawal as aloofness, plunging autistic children in a lonelier world than they need to be in. All I ask for is a chance to break through.
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