Autism workshop a big help for parents of autistic children
For the first time, the autism support group, ‘Talk Autism Fiji’ platform have given parents of autistic children the opportunity to have a virtual discussion on issues pertaining to autism. The two hour-webinar workshop was organised by Merina George of Talk Autism Fiji, in partnership with University of Texas. It was hosted by the Frank Hilton organisation.
Joan Rigamoto, a passionate parent of a child with autism, shared her gratitude to the co-ordinator of the virtual discussion, Loukia Tsami, who has over the years had provided telehealth services to families of children with autism in Texas, USA.
“This was such a great opportunity for every parent that came out to tune into the webinar session and
I am so grateful to be a part of it,” Ms Rigamoto said.
“America are more advanced in autism. There are scientific tactics or intervention programmes that they have developed in the United States that have helped the caregiver or the teacher to allow a child to be able to learn self-help skills and to learn simple things that neurotypical children have already mastered in classes. These interventions are called Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).
“Children with autism have trouble processing information and communicating. This intervention ABA has proven to help children with autism to learn things easier.” Parents exchanged positive feedback from the workshop and are looking forward to the month of August with another virtual meeting with the expert.
“For Loukia Tsami to do this freeof-charge and taking her time to share her experiences has been a mind opener and a great opportunity.
“She’s happy to host us again in August; this time it’s a hands-on one where we bring our children and she will teach us step-by-step on how to play, interact, communicate with them more easier
“We are looking for a bigger venue and we are just reaching out to anybody who is willing to host us but it is really useful.”
According to Autism Speaks, autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterised by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviours, speech and non-verbal communication.