Nairobi County Assembly passes the Autism Education Motion

Nairobi County Assembly has become the first devolved unit to pass the Autism Education Motion with the MCAs unanimously voting for the motion.

The Autism Education Motion will allow children with Autism in the capital to access effective and appropriate public education that meets their unique individual needs.

Autism is a developmental disorder of neurological origin that can have lifelong effects in social interaction, ability to communicate effectively and social skills.

Research indicates that early intervention especially in Early Childhood Development Centers provides the most effective Autism therapy.

Applied Behavior Analysis significantly improves the quality of life and outcomes of children with Autism and reduces the immense strain to the family.

During the debate in the County Assembly, it emerged that families are spending over Ksh 400,000 on a monthly basis to manage their children suffering with Autism.

This cost of managing Autism has therefore become unbearable since managing a child with Autism is a full time job.

The Autism Education Motion will therefore address for families bringing up children with Autism by ensuring they get access to the best education available.

The motion will bring to an end instances where children with Autism are sent away from school, and seeks to ensure that Schools are properly equipped and have the personnel to teach such children.

In this light, families with children suffering from Autism have been urged not to keep them at home and instead seek help where necessary.

The campaign is championed by Autism Lights a nonprofit organization that is at the forefront to improve the quality of life for those diagnosed with Autism as well as create Autism awareness.

Director of Policy and Special Projects, Wamaratu Chege says they are advocating for Autism Acceptance and Inclusion and in the process providing trainings to parents, teachers and health care professionals on how to deal with the same.

The organization held a retreat for MCAs and other stakeholders among them Autism Consultants from Boston, USA on effective sustainable solutions for Autism in Kenya.

It was agreed during the retreat that County Assemblies must play their role by passing ht emotions to ensure quality of education for these children improves.