School for autistic kids opens in Soweto
APIWE Qwesha is six years old and has never been inside a classroom before yesterday, when he put on grey pants and a light blue school shirt for the first time.
Apiwe’s classroom looks different to his nine-year-old sister’s – the tables are clustered in the middle of the room and he has only seven classmates.
The halls smell of fresh paint and the toys are new because he is one of the first 56 pupils who started lessons at the new Thulasizwe school for autistic children in Dube, Soweto, which opened on the same day as mainstream schools in Gauteng.
The school is painted blue – the international colour for autism – with bold primary colours to stimulate the chil- dren, said Department of Education circuit manager Lalitha Rathinasamy.
MEC for Economic Development, Agriculture, Environment and Rural Development Lebogang Maile said the facility sought to create social cohesion. “We are offering support to families, especially the most vulnerable. Before, people believed that society should not know about children with autism. This school shows we have progressed and invested resources to create a conducive environment for them,” he said.
According to Rathinasamy, Thulasizwe is one of just three schools in the province that cater specifically for autistic pupils, with one in Pretoria and another at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital.
Autistic children are also accommodated at other schools for mentally disabled learners.
Ellenor Bosch, a psychologist who oversees seven special-needs schools in Gauteng, said the teachers faced a challenge, but children with autism could learn to read and write.
Apiwe’s mother, Sibongile Nkuna, said her son was diagnosed with autism in 2010 when she noticed that he would scream incessantly and bang things.
“The community used to look at me differently, but I am happy now because he no longer has to stay at home,” she said.