Stakeholders Call for Inclusion of Children With Autism in Education System

• There is no effort to include children with Autism in the current Education system.
• Most school activities and lesson plans are not catered to everyone’s individual needs, making it challenging for children with Autism to feel included.
• There is need to establish Centers of Excellence in order to accommodate Autistic children in Zambia’s education system.

Persons with disabilities, especially children with Autism have continued to face challenges in accessing education in the country.

Specific challenges that have been identified as major obstacles in the provision of special education services include a lack of government support, cultural influences, limited resources, and poverty.

The United Nations (UN) defines Persons with disabilities as people who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

And Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the many different types of disabilities that so many children all over the world are grappling with and Zambia is not an exception.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain. People with ASD often have problems with social communication and interaction, and restricted or repetitive behaviors or interests.

Autism constitutes a diverse group of conditions related to development of the brain and it is estimated that about 100 in 10,000 or 1 in 100 children around the world are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

This is an increase from the 2012 global prevalence report which found that 62 in 10,000 children were autistic.

According to Autism Speaks, many children show symptoms of autism by 12 months to 18 months of age or earlier and some early signs include problems with eyesight.

Other symptoms include delayed language and movement skills, delayed cognitive or learning skills, Hyperactive, impulsive, Epilepsy or seizure disorder, unusual eating and sleeping habits.

A study conducted at Zambia’s University Teaching Hospital, over an eight month period from May 2016 to January 2017, revealed that 15 children representing 2.6% reported at least one red flag symptom of Autism.

The prevalence of ASD in this study was 1.4 % and common clinical characteristics seen in the children were male aged between 36-48 months with an inability to utter a single word by the age of two years.

The successful education of students with autism requires an in depth understanding of the disability and its unique characteristics

Most school activities and lesson plans are not catered to everyone’s individual needs, making it challenging for children with Autism to feel included.

It is in this vein that Edward Muma, a father of an Autistic daughter, is calling on government to create an inclusive learning environment for autistic children, by providing them with access to the same opportunities that are available to others.

Mr. Muma, whose daughter has lived with the condition for 11 years, laments that she is unable to access education due to lack of adequate special schools with well trained teachers to handle such children.

On the other hand, Disability Rights Watch National Coordinator, Bruce Chooma is calling for the establishment of Centers of Excellence in order to accommodate Autistic children in Zambia’s education system.

Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Mr. Chooma notes that there is no effort to include children with Autism in the current Education system, as most of them go to private schools where there is a bit of effort to look after them.

Mr. Choom hopes that government can complete works on the stalled construction of the Munali Secondary School Disability Centre of Excellence in Lusaka so that children with Autism can be able to access quality education just like any other child.

And Mr. Chooma has called for increased awareness on Autism, noting that a lot of parents especially in rural areas do not know what condition their children have.

Meanwhile, UN Volunteer Coordination and Partnership Officer, Moses Chubili, tells Money FM News through his sign language interpreter that the United Nations has been implementing a number of programmes that involve all persons with disabilities including children with autism and wants the Zambian government to continue supporting such initiatives.

In December 2023, European Union (EU) pledged to finance the completion of construction works of the Munali Secondary School Disability Centre of Excellence in 2024.

According to the EU, the completion of the Centre of Excellence which has stalled for years will be catered for under the recently announced K1.5-billion.

With access to the educational support they need and choose, children with Autism can be empowered to face the key milestones in every person’s life.