Why healthcare, education vital for children with autism — Expert

Due to stigma and discrimination in many communities, children and adults with autism and intellectual disabilities in Nigeria are largely kept behind bars because they lack access to specialised health care and education.

Dr Abimbola Oyedokun, a consultant psychiatrist at the Cheshire and Wirral NHS Foundation Trust, North West United Kingdom, stated this at the April 2025 edition of the Interactive Monthly Community Engagement (IMCE) series by Asido Foundation with the theme “Beyond the Diagnosis: Supporting Children with Intellectual Disabilities and Autism”.

Oyedokun said that the government has the prerogative to provide specialised health care and education for them since the few available are too expensive or where these children cannot go.

According to her, “In a setting like the UK, under law, every child, whether they have a disability or not, must go to school. There are well-defined policies in which the needs of every child are catered for. So it’s the prerogative of the government to ensure the provision of specialised or special needs schools for those who need it.”

She stated that the provision of specialised health care and education for children and adults with autism and intellectual disabilities in Nigeria requires a multidisciplinary team approach.

The child & adolescent mental health expert decried the neglect of the emotional and mental health of parents and siblings of children and adults with autism and intellectual disabilities in Nigeria.

“We don’t provide for them. I’ve had parents who would tell me, I don’t know for how long, how long I’m going to continue with this. This is breaking me. So obviously the challenges and the burden are quite immense,” she added.

Dr Oyedokun, however, said that improving support for children and adults with autism and intellectual disabilities, including their parents, would require training for health professionals, the establishment of community centres for children and adults with intellectual disabilities or with autism, and the buy-in of private organisations to support service provisions that meet their needs.

She said autism is a genetic problem that runs in the family, and parents should stop blaming themselves for its cause.

According to her, all is not lost regarding children with intellectual disabilities or with autism because they can be helped.

“The starting point is psycho-education; get to know more about this condition, get to know how you can help. Get to understand your child, as much as you can. And I usually tell them, show them love. You’re the voice for your child. Advocate for your child. And don’t be ashamed of your child.

“I’ve had parents who want to take their children out. But, with support and encouragement, and also sharing techniques and strategies with them, they’ve got it to the point where they can enjoy a family day out with their child.

“It’s also important for the other siblings too, to be educated, to know what condition it is that their sibling has, and to see how they can help. And also, when it happens that they have behaviours that are difficult to manage, not to leave them as attention-seeking or selfish.

“The child or the young person or the adult is saying something with that behaviour. So it’s for us to get now to understand what that behaviour is and see how we can help.”

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