- Title: ETHIOPIA: Special school pioneers care for autism
- Date: 1st March 2012
- Summary: ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CHILDREN PLAYING WITH RAINBOW COLOURED PARACHUTE SILK IN SCHOOL PLAYGROUND VARIOUS OF JOY AUTISM CENTRE FOUNDER ZEMI YENUS WITH CHILDREN ZEMI YENUS SINGING WITH CHILDREN ZEMI'S SON JOJO (SOUNDBITE) (English) ZEMI YENUS, JOY AUTISM CENTRE FOUNDER SAYING: "My son was expelled from schools from five, six different schools because he showed different behavior and people believed that he was a spoilt child, he didn't want to learn, he was a lazy boy." VARIOUS OF CHILDREN PLAYING IN THE PLAYGROUND (SOUNDBITE) (English) ZEMI YENUS, JOY AUTISM CENTRE FOUNDER SAYING: "My son Jojo was looking through the window when we were departing, when I was taking my other son to his school and it was so painful." JOJO AND OTHERS HOLDING HANDS AND WALKING IN A CIRCLE IN THE SCHOOL YARD VARIOUS OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS AT THE CENTRE YOUNG GIRL PLAYING WITH TEACHER (SOUNDBITE) (Amharic) ELISABETH TADELE, TEACHER, SAYING: "I feel very lucky to work with these children. These children need love and care. I am always happy to give them affection. They need love and care more than anything. I will always work with them." VARIOUS OF BETTY, YOUNG GIRL WITH AUTISM PLAYING INSIDE THE CENTRE BETTY WITH HER MOTHER ABERU DAMESSA (SOUNDBITE) (Amharic) ABERU DAMESSA, MOTHER OF AUTISTIC CHILD SAYING: "I used to work as a maid at many homes to bring her up. But, since I had no one who can take care of her in my absence, I used to tie her hands behind and leave her with neighbors and go to look for work like baking Injera (rice flour pancake) and making traditional drinks, and washing clothes for people." ZEMI YENUS TALKING TO DAMESSA AND ANOTHER PARENT ZEMZEM ASEFFA (SOUNDBITE) (Amharic) ZEMZEM ASEFFA, MOTHER OF CHILD WITH AUTISM SAYING: "My life was hell. It wasn't life at all. I was in a very difficult situation until God brought Zemi to me. My son is so much better now, I am very happy and my house is full of peace. Change has come to our life since we met Zemi. My Life would have been very different now if I hadn't met her." VARIOUS OF YOUNG GIRL WALKING ON RUBBER MATS WITH A TEACHER
- Embargoed: 16th March 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Ethiopia, Ethiopia
- Country: Ethiopia
- Topics: Education,Health,Education
- Reuters ID: LVADLHHH7VGK1L4YXAYLKWRI55IW
- Story Text: At the Joy school for children with autism in Ethiopia, the parachute game is one of the more popular activities. Students take it in turns to hold the edges of a huge rainbow coloured piece of silk, shaking it up and down and singing while others sit underneath.
The game is a way to encourage autistic children, who often find it hard to socialise with other people, to play together in a fun and safe environment.
The centre is like many other schools around the world dedicated to supporting children with the condition and their parents but its one of a kind in Ethiopia, where autism is little recognised and under diagnosed.
It was set up by Zemi Yunus whose 20-year-old son Jojo has autism.
Like many parents of autistic children, Zemi knew her son was different but struggled for years to get a diagnosis. Most psychologists and teachers told her he was badly brought up or spoilt.
"My son was expelled from schools from five, six different schools because he showed different behavior and people believed that he was a spoilt child, he didn't want to learn, he was a lazy boy," she said.
With no teacher willing to take Jojo she was forced to leave him at home and take her younger boy to school alone.
"My son Jojo was looking through the window when we were departing, when I was taking my other son to his school and it was so painful."
Zemi only realised Jojo could be autistic when her husband saw a programme about it in America.
After some investigation she found scores of children living in Ethiopia who displayed very similar characteristics to Jojo, many of them kept hidden away from the world by their parents who were too confused or ashamed to have them seen in public.
Using money saved from her job as a beautician, Zemi set up the Joy Autism school in Addis Ababa in 2002.
Today it has more than 75 students and employs 30 members of full time staff.
"I feel very lucky to work with these children. These children need love and care. I am always happy to give them affection. They need love and care more than anything. I will always work with them," said Elisabeth Tadele one of the teachers at the school.
Betty is one of the younger children who recently joined the school. In the specially adapted learning centre she plays with sand and water as a way to learn more about texture.
Before her mother found the Joy school she struggled to take care of Betty and often resorted to tying her hands behind her back.
"I used to work as a maid at many homes to bring her up. But, since I had no one who can take care of her in my absence, I used to tie her hands and leave her with neighbors and go to look for work like baking Injera (rice flour pancake) and making traditional drinks, and washing clothes for people," Betty's mother Aberu Damessa said.
Disability is still a major stigma in Ethiopia, especially in rural areas where there is little or no medical support for complex illnesses or conditions. More often than not Zemi says children with autism are never diagnosed, leaving them to grow up as ostracised adults or inpatients of psychiatric wards.
"My life was hell. It wasn't life at all. I was in a very difficult situation until God brought Zemi to me. My son is so much better now, I am very happy and my house is full of peace. Change has come to our life since we met Zemi. My Life would have been very different now if I hadn't met her," said Zemzem Aseffa, another parent whose child is at the school.
There is anecdotal evidence that the number of autism cases are on the rise in Ethiopia according to a small group of doctors researching the issue. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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