Day 2!

Today was a very humbling day, as I had the opportunity to see two very different special needs schools serving very different populations and demographics.  The first very small school was located in one of the lowest socioeconomic areas of Nairobi, where many students had physical and mental disabilities that were the result of malaria, HIV/AIDS, cholera and malnutrition.  School fees equate to US$2/month, and children are provided with environmental arrangements based on principles of behavioral prompting and cueing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, medical assistance including HIV testing and proper nutrition.  Upon speaking with one of the teachers at great length about service delivery and needs, she indicated that one of the biggest barriers was overall awareness of disabilities, and alleviating the stigma associated with having a child with a disability.  Slowly as awareness increases, more mothers are coming out of the woodwork to seek assistance with their children.  This has implications for targeting awareness across the country in general in order to encourage those that having a child with a disability is a reality that cannot be avoided or always hidden, but there are ways to support families and creating measurable, observable behavioral change to increase overall functioning in everyday life.  On the other side of the spectrum, we visited a mainstream Pre-K and K school where school fees were approximately US$1000/4 months.  In this case, awareness of disabilities were more openly embraced and provided for accordingly.  Parents were able to see successes overtime with their special needs children, and were satisfied with results.  Collaboration with Kaizora Center also facilitated consistent skill acquisition both at school and at home, resulting in parents acknowledging the extra behavioral support needed at times.  Both parents and school staff were able to attest to the gains children had made when combining school-based learning with ABA therapy provided at Kaizora Center.  At the end of the day, after familiarizing myself with two different settings serving children in Nairobi, what seems clear is that when awareness of special needs children is embraced by families and care providers, appropriate interventions and assistance is sought.  And when those reach out for assistance, and are provided with ABA therapy and methodologies spanning a variety of contexts, families are extremely satisfied with overall independent levels of functioning both at home and at school, as well as functioning amongst the dynamics of the family unit.  This in and of itself may indicate that demonstrating measurable, behavioral change may increase the likelihood that services can be provided to more individuals in more places.  This seems like an ideal starting point and initiative for Global Autism Project and Kaizora Center.    

- Emily