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Trinidad Parenting Children With Autism - Page 4

Name: Dan

Title: Center for adults and children with disabilities

Comments: [..] I am writing today to try and receive some information in regards to the types of programs that are offered for individuals, both children and adults that have disabilities, especially disabilities like Autism and Downs Syndrome in Trinidad and more specifically in the Port of Spain or Arima communities. My wife is from Trinidad and would like to return home there in the next year or so. I have been heavily involved, over 15 years, working with families and children with disabilities and designing programs that helps to teach them with a focus on life skills, such as cooking, cleaning, taking care of ones self, rather than just the regular school skills that we like to teach them in a standard curriculum. I am interested in opening up a company in Trinidad like the one I have created in Toronto but would like to get feedback on the needs, the amount of needs and the type of needs of individuals in Trinidad. The biggest question, due to the lack of statistics that are kept in Trinidad on this sort of thing, is whether or not there is a need for a company like mine.

I am interested in designing and building a program in Trinidad, like the ones that I have built here in Toronto. The goal of course is to start something new and work within the culture of the people there in Trinidad. I know that here in Toronto we have allot of access to many government programs and also private programs, I would love to be able to team up with families and other businesses in the Port of Spain community that are trying to work with the individuals and there families. [..]

Autism Children Parenting Trinidad

Name: Kiel

Title: Getting help for autism in Trinidad&Tobago?

Comments: I'm curious if anyone knows where one could start in getting help for autism in T&T?

My son is non-verbal autism, we were seeing a private pediatrician who claimed she was not qualified to diagnose but she thought he was like autism, she discharged him he aged out of her practice at age 2 and he is 3 now.

I was also non-verbal until age six and we started doing our own research which turned up this site.

I'm originally from the USA and I'm kind of lost dealing with local public schools or government, also bizarre local attitudes like autism is caused by infectious evil spirits called jumbies. We just got the run around being told to start by going to Mount Hope but they did not tell us if we would get a diagnosis or not. I'm also not going to let school staff hit my son.

I'm just kind of lost, if anyone has a helpful comment I'd appreciate it.

Trinidad Parenting Children With Autism Caribbean / Tobago & Trinidad

Kiel, a very good friend of mine has a child with autism. I'm sorry to say this but the availability of services here is very poor. Source 9

About Mt Hope, you can call the Child Clinic section but you will be given an appointment to START (Not for an evaluation right away) in about two years. Yes, it is not a typo, you will be given an appointment for perhaps 2016 (No less).

About the evil spirits, no offense but what kind of people you are dealing with on a daily basis? Those are myths, folklore stories mainly from country-side people, just ignore it.

Page 4 Autism Children Parenting Trinidad

Autism parenting In Trinidad

Ramcharan said: "I went to PriceSmart on Friday. I had to juggle with the groceries. I admit he is very aggressive at times. A man said "if you give him two good belt he would behave himself". I told him he is autistic. He was just ignorant about it. People just don't understand. At times, Stephan will be jumping and laughing. People will get so offended. This is what parents with autistic children have to encounter when they go out with children. Some people ignore the fact the child has a disability."

Ramcharan added: "Quintien took him to the beach. He threw water on a man. The man started to curse and get on. Although my husband explained he is not normal and he is autistic, the man kept cursing. Over the years, people have cursed me in the worse manner and told me why I don't just keep my retarded child home. It is very hard at times when dealing with him. It hurts when people don't understand." Ref. Source 4

Autism Children Parenting Trinidad

Name: Sad
Country:

Comments: There are no public places for children who are autistic? That's crazy. You can't throw autistic children in the regular public system, they won't be able to cope. If there aren't schools then the government should pay for special education for these children. Just because they are autistic doesn't mean they should be left out.

Trinidad Parenting Children With Autism

I was doing some searching for autism resources in Trinidad, and came across this website. It has various forum topics, and a lot of insight into the problems faced by parents and kids. It seems that some issues that were problems 5 or 6 years ago still haven't had any progress.

Trinidad Parenting Children Autism - Page 4

One take on what is happening and what should be done from a parent of THREE autistic children: Autism Awareness Month In Trinidad II.

Trinidad Parenting Children Autism Trinidad & Tobago / Caribbean - Page 4

JB you are so right! I raised 4 kids on the autism spectrum back in Canada, and now one child here, and the services are like night and day. Trinidad is truly in the dark when it comes to how it treats ALL disabled people. When was the last time you saw a vision impaired person with a guide dog here, or sidewalks paved with the thought that a wheelchair bound person would use them? It's not just autism, but all disabilities. The fact is my other four kids are now happy, productive adults, my 25 year old twin girls are working at good jobs, have boyfriends, and live on their own. My 22 year old boys graduate from college in June, and one will be a chef, the other a computer programmer/video game designer. All because they got all the support they needed throughout school. Here, I can't even get my son into a preschool without spending thousands of dollars PER TERM, so what hope do we have at grade school?