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By Doris Obinna
The annual Autism Conference, 12th edition, with themed “Creating a Community of Awe-Tism Advocates” will hold on Monday, August 29, and Tuesday 30, 2022, at MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos.
According to the organisers, the annual autism conference is a pivotal component of GTCO’s Orange Ribbon initiative and serves as a key advocacy platform for people living with autism and other developmental disorders.
“In recent years, the GTCO autism conference has gained wider acclaim for bringing together some of the world’s leading experts in autism, especially with the successful coordination of a fully virtual autism conference in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“For this year, the GTCO autism conference will feature keynote addresses and panel discussions by experienced specialists from renowned institutions in Nigeria and abroad in a hybrid set-up to allow for both in-person and virtual participation. Some of the partnering organisations include Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu, Autism Compassion Africa, Ghana, The Color of Autism Foundation, USA, Meharry Medical College, USA, and Behaviorprise Consulting Inc., Canada.”
The group chief executive officer of Guaranty Trust Holding Company PLC, Segun Agbaje, called for more individuals to collectively create and uphold a culture of inclusion towards people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to enable them reach their full potential.
He said much has been done over the years to increase social consciousness around autism.
“To improve the available support systems for managing developmental disorders, we strongly believe that we can do more individually and collectively.
“The Orange Ribbon initiative was created to support children and adults with developmental disabilities with a focus on those with autism spectrum disorders. Now in its second decade, the annual autism conference has over the years created a community of people with a shared commitment to create better outcomes for those who find themselves in the margins of society simply because they are different from the rest.
“There will be one-on-one consultations and Q&A sessions during the conference that will provide opportunities for parents and other stakeholders to further engage on best practices for proper diagnosis and treatment of persons on the autism spectrum with the experts.
“As a special feature and to ensure more persons with developmental disorders can benefit from professional help, provision has been made to offer specialist care to autistic children in the areas of speech and behaviour therapy, child psychology and psychiatry, as well as occupational development for adults living with autism via in-person consultations at the Chapel of Light, Alausa, Ikeja, which commenced on Tuesday, August 23 to end Saturday, August 27 between 10am and 5pm.”
