I've been volunteering for Autism South Africa since I visited their offices a few months ago. Unfortunately, the financial difficulties the organization was experiencing then have become even more pronounced. There is no government support. Donations are dwindling. Existing sources of revenue are drying up.
There is the great dilemma- should you continue to push for awareness in a country where autism is under-diagnosed and misunderstood, knowing that it is already impossible to provide adequate assistance?
The one thing they desperately need- more money- I'm unable to bring. I couldn't help but feel helpless.
And yet that morning...
- In walked a student from the local university looking for further information about autism spectrum disorders.
- An educator is travelling around the country providing workshops for parents, therapists and teachers.
- A therapist stopped by and asked to be added to the mailing list for more information about autism workshops.
- The mother of a newly diagnosed child was able to walk in and collect information about autism in her own language, and given direction about the next steps.
- Another concerned parent could call in and schedule an appointment for a full assessment free of charge.
The staff continue to work on ways to help everyone affected by autism in South Africa has access to the support and services they need, regardless of the current situation.
Following a phone call in which a father asked, "Is there any hope?" following the recent diagnosis of his child, the member of staff who took the call turned to me and said he wasn't sure how to respond to that question. He asked me how I would have replied.
There is always hope.
When there is nothing left to give, hope is the one thing you can give. We hopeful parents know that. A cause is never hopeless as long as there are people trying to find it. I don't feel helpless any more. I described my first visit to the office as a flood, but now I know better. It is a lighthouse. In these dark times, Autism South Africa is still shining a light. Now all that remains is to make that beacon brighter.
Spectrummy Mummy writes about the family who light up her life on her blog, Facebook and Twitter.
you always continue to amaze me :) Those connections - so important. And remember - they tell two friends, and they tell two friends...and slowly people begin to understand. And work together.
ReplyDeleteSo proud of you!! Keep doing what you're doing - you may only be one person, but you just may be the one person a parent of a child with Autism needs to keep going and to seek out the information they so desperately will need. You may be the spark needed to create the inferno!! Keep the faith, you're doing great!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post. The most important thing we can do is support one another. That's what gives us hope and strength to progress through life while being affected by an ASD. I couldn't imagine how difficult things would be if I didn't have a support network.
ReplyDeleteWell said!
ReplyDelete"Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Meade
DR WILLIAMS CURED 7 YEARS AUTISM
ReplyDeleteI am sharing this testimony for my daughter who suffered autism for 7 years. I am doing this, because I was her mother and caregiver during her dark days and am very happy to share it so that others can be helped through DR WILLIAMS HERBAL MEDICINE. It was a tough a battle for her; I was not actually the one who hard autism, but bearing the burden makes me understand what parents whose children and love with autism go through.
Lesia now 19 and was diagnosed with autism at the age of twelve, for seven years, she fought against her diagnosis. I must admit it was never easy for us as a family; we had to constantly watch her, and answer questions that we couldn’t explain. On several occasions, she asked if she will ever stop having speech delay and get well like her school mates and be the best swimmer she dreamt of becoming. She was a very happy child; and had a ‘normal’ childhood and there was no suggestion that she would later on develop autism.
She refused to accept defeat and fought autism. She religiously kept to her medications in spite of their side effects. We all wanted a cure, so that she can chase her dream and live a normal life like every other child. But the more she takes these medications, the more her school grade drop. She couldn’t concentrate and we noticed that her memory was being severely adversely affected. Each time we went back to the hospital, her medicines were changed to a different one. Seems like, each change of drug brings about change in side effects. After about 6 years on Abilify , Geodon , and other medicines, it seemed the autism started to increase in frequency. I had to make effort to reduce her medicines with plans to eventually stop it all. We found an alternative treatment in homeopathy, which was better than her English drugs. Gradually, I reduced her drugs, and her autism were no longer as frequent as it was as when she was on conventional drugs.
With our little breakthrough with homeopathy treatment, we made further search for natural cure. Fortunately we saw testimonies about herbal medicines which cure autism. We saw a lot of claims though, contacted them and didn’t get a useful reply. Lucky for us, we finally got a reply from Doctor Williams, he directed us to his blog where we saw a lot of information about his herbal medicine . Without further delay I made a purchase for her, I switched her over to it. We had great breakthrough, that in 3 weeks, her autism reduced. After 1 months as Doctor Williams promised , all autism symptoms stopped. It was like a miracle for us. since all this days now Lesia became autism free. Her story is quite lengthy, I hope it also help someone out there.for more information you can email Dr Williams on drwilliams098675@gmail.com