And when the parents of these autistic children are themselves challenged in the understanding of what the situation is, they blame God, curse satan for giving them an autistic child.
There is nothing more painful than being kicked when you are down in life yet for children with autism, they are mocked, abandoned, kicked and deserted in their lowest estate by their neighbors, friends, teachers and even their parents who are supposed to know better.
Their lives become a life without dreams, a life of drought that prays for rain that never comes.
Yet in this same Africa, Ghana is a story of a 14-year-old who despite her challenged deformity in autism is breaking the barriers and shackles of impossibilities, chasing her dreams with every fibre of her being.
Nana Yaa Ohenewa Kuffuor is what African beauty stands for- a beautiful broad-cheeked face, with arches of a perfect eye brows linked from opposite directions to a pointed nose that sits seamlessly just above a heart-shaped lip.
Her gentle smile is infectious. She is that beautiful with autism and
daring to change the narrative about people with autism. She dreams of becoming
a top model in the world and has begun the journey to achieving her dream with
her first photo-shoot facilitated by Afi Antonio.
In her photo-shoot is a finished product of
what any manager would love to have in a top model, but the story behind that
finished product is a tiring journey of pain, a tireless effort to gain, a
commitment of an entire family who, with religious devotion, are rewriting the
cultural history of autism in Ghana.
Her mom, Mary Amoah says they found
out at age five that beautiful Nana Yaa was suffering from autism. She wasn’t
their only child but she was special.
What every growing child did, young
Nana Yaa could not, the giggles that every child gave, young Nana Yaa did not.
But she was special in her own right.
Autism Spectrum Disorder, which is
popularly referred to as Autism, is a range of conditions characterized by
challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal
communication, as well as by unique strengths and differences.
Mary Amoah said the knowledge of
their child’s difficulty presented the family a new challenge and a poised
determination to do their best for her and to provide her with every single
opportunity.
Whatever effort, time, money, they
put in raising their earlier children, they invested twice as much in raising
Nana Yaa to be what she is today- young autistic teenager modeling her way to
greatness.
They gave her a home she could be proud of,
a home tuition with a classroom none of the other children got, a wide range of
therapies including sensory integration, son-rise programme, gfcfsf diet, play
therapy etc.
Mary Amoah who was only a teacher
decided to take a course in how to take care of children with special needs.
She took care of Nana Yaa during
the day and her husband took over in the evening, with the children, Nana Yaa’s
siblings, taking turns to provide training, love for an autistic child destined
to put her family on the globe.
Mary Amoah documented every single sign,
look, action, inaction, pain, gain, tears, smile of Nana Yaa under every
circumstance just so she would know what her lovely baby girl likes or
dislikes.
It was such a journey, and they
walked it with poise, uncertain about what the future held. It was only when
Aunty Mary shared her daughter’s photograph with an online parent support
group for autism that the thought of her daughter’s potential career of
becoming a model was tossed into her mind and since then there is no turning
back for Nana Yaa.
She smiles in front of the camera
with a sizzling Tyra Banks pose that puts a smile on the faces of anyone who
cares to look.
Trained by a facilitator with
Awaawaa2, an NGO that supports children with speech and language difficulties,
Nana Yaa has begun a new journey of hope, a career in modeling all aimed at
telling a new story of an autistic child in Africa.
Watch some of the pictures taken in
her photo shoot with Afi Antonio, a young and upcoming Ghanaian model.
Source; MyJoyOnline.com
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