Do more for children with special needs, officials urged
Mombasa residents mark the World Autism Awareness day on April 2, 2015. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder. PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Stakeholders in the health sector want counties and the national governments to build rescue centres for children with developmental disorders in Kwale County.
Support groups said the children with conditions such as cerebral palsy, autism, Down syndrome and spina bifida face stigma.
They also lack critical medical care due to the high costs of treating their illnesses.
More than 400 children born with developmental conditions are hidden at home, said Diani Caregivers Support Group founder Barke Rashid.
“This is a huge number of children and we are hoping that various governments could take this into consideration,” she said.
Rescue centres, she said, will ensure that the children have access to education, medication and therapy, and that their parents’ mental well-being is taken care of at the same facilities.
Ms Rashid said there is only one school that deals with children with such conditions and it cannot accommodate the large numbers of children with special needs.
She spoke after the group’s 20km walk to raise awareness about developmental illnesses in Ukunda. The event attracted residents from Msambweni, Lungalunga.
Kwale gubernatorial aspirant Prof Hamadi Boga, who flagged off the walk, said it was important for county and national officials to consider creating a safe place for these children and their parents.
“We must make sure that the government comes up with plans to help such children because single families cannot manage children born with cerebral palsy conditions,” he said.
There is also a shortage of medicines for managing developmental conditions in public hospitals, said pharmacist Doreen Munene.
She added that such medications can only be found in private hospitals, which sell them at exorbitant prices.
“This means many parents leave their children without medication because they cannot afford it. The government ought to provide this medication at subsidised prices,” she said.
Parents of children with such disabilities have been urged not to hide them but to seek medical care for them. In some communities, the disorders are believed to result from witchcraft, which is not the case.
