The number of children with special needs rises from year to year. I may not have the actual number now, but I am sure it has increased, since getting an appointment with a developmental pediatrician can take months, if not years, for an hour of check-up.
More new medical doctors pass the board exam given by PRC annually, and the population of Developmental Pediatric practitioners remains low compared to other specializations. If you are looking for the right opportunity, this is the course you should consider. Also, SPED schools are not easily accessible to everyone despite the hundreds of thousands of annual tuition.
But what makes these children special is that despite their circumstances, their parents, families and friends accept and love them as they are. There are others who became rich and people normally linked their source of blessings to their special child. Behind the success, however, are unseen struggles the family, especially parents, underwent to make it through.
My son Osmund is like a magnet to these children. Every time he meets one, he smiles and they smile back. He would at an instant feel the red flags when the child does not respond when called, no eye contact, and hums a song not minding people around them, and finds music as annoying and noise to their ears.
In other progressive countries, the battle for controlling the ill effects of autism has begun decades before us. If I can recall it right, the movie Rain Man with Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise featured an autistic person who was good at recalling numbers. They earned a fortune at the Casino but the actual message was about brotherhood and the pains families of people with autism are going through.
There are studies that this could be traced to the foods our children eat. The child with ASD, if detected early, may be able to live a normal life just like other children. Tests like G6PD conducted in laboratories may act as a guide in treatment. Early detection means early therapy which may save special children from the ill effects of ASD.
While most of us pity parents with children undergoing such cases, others, like my wife’s cousin Rowena, consider it as a blessing. Her son has been affected with ASD but is currently working in a pharmacy having been its model in its calendars for the past years. They move heaven and earth to provide him with the best therapy center, even transferring from Biñan to Rizal looking for a school that will best fit his needs. As to financial resources, the Lord has blessed them to provide more than what they need.
The Rainman of the 90’s are well alive today, with the character actor Dustin Hoffman still around and his brother Tom Cruise in the movie remembered more for his other movies. The “Rain Man” by the the way, represents Dustin’s name Raymond in the movie. New laws should be passed by our legislators and new medical practices should be discovered to help these members of society.
While I am not an expert nor a practitioner for patients with ASD, these observations may come in handy to help others understand ASD better. Instead of pity, we should give empathy. ||
