Why we organise annual campaign for Autism —GTBank

THE need to break new ground and remove the stigma around people living with Autism, has been identified by the management of GTBank, as one of the key reasons for organizing the bank’s annual campaign for the disorder.

Speaking at the flag-off of this year’s edition of the initiative, the bank’s  Head, Communications and External Affairs, Oyinade Adegbite, stated that  though quite a number of Nigerians suffer from the disorder, awareness  among Nigerians about the disorder was glaringly low.

“While some decided to see it as spiritual and would rather prefer to

seek spiritual help for the disorder, some would even prefer to lock such relations suffering from the disorder in a room, because of the stigma society attached to it,” she added.

She however noted that since GTBank’s intervention few years ago, the bank had been able to raise some awareness concerning the disorder, with many Nigerians, whose children live with the disorder willingly coming out to seek help.

The bank’s spokesperson explained that this year’s edition of the campaign, which had since commenced, would see a consortium of both local and foreign medical experts, especially specialists, converge to offer solution to those living with Autism in Lagos.

Commending the bank on the initiative, the Chief Executive Officer of Patrick Speech and Languages Centre, Mrs Dotun Akande noted that the bank had succeeded in raising the level of awareness for the disorder among Nigerians in the past few years.

“When we started, there were many familiies that were struggling with criticism. But GTBank’s annual autism campaign really shed light on this disorder. It bas brought the issue of autism to the front burner, while it has also helped us a centre to meet critical stakeholders in this area,” Akande stated.