You run into Dotun Akande at an interactive session for parents of children with Autism. Here, the banker turned educator shared a personal experience on how her son who is now in the university has survived autism and how the passion spurred her to save other children. In this interview with YETUNDE OLADEINDE, the woman who is also the overall winner of the 2015 Vlisco Award talks about the passion and the inspiration behind Patrick Speech and Languages Centre and Pure Souls Learning Foundation.
When did the organisation begin? We started in 2008 and started with the centre for children with Autism before starting the Patrick’s Speech and Languages Centre. We discovered that there are so many families that could not afford to pay fees and that inspired setting up a foundation on their behalf. So we started sponsoring families for therapy.
Did something personal inspire you to do this?
Yes, my son did. He was diagnosed with Autism. After this, he was growing and we did therapy and he emerged and was emerging. He is now in the university. So it showed me that if you put them in an environment of love, put them in an environment that is filled with affection, care for them, they really would do well. We have been doing this for about ten years now.
What were some of the challenges that you faced at the beginning?
Funding and I would say that awareness that was the major challenge that we had at the beginning. Where do we go to? I remember when my dad came to the centre and saw tables and chair. He was surprised and wondered why we had so many chairs and if we had so many people that have children with Autism in Nigeria. Then I said ‘daddy, they would come,’ that a lot of people were hiding their children, but today we have a full centre and so many people are coming out. We have about 42 children and adults. Our oldest person in the school is 36 years. We have also seen a 49-year-old, even though the person does not stay in the centre.
Would you say that you have overcome all the challenges?
Can that happen? The challenges are still there. We still have challenges with awareness. A number of people are partnering with us because they see that we are doing something that is impactful. That we are touching the lives of families that ordinarily were hopeless.
Let’s talk about two or three memorable cases that you have handled
My first memorable moment case was one little girl that came to the centre. We tried for over eight months to try to let her release her words. Then she was the first that started using words like pass the ball. She actually made a sentence and she is now in a regular school. She graduated to secondary school and her parents never left the shores of Nigeria, meaning that it is possible to get help here. My second testimony is the thirty-six-year-old that is with us. He came to us at thirty-five and we had almost lost hope. My staff had actually dismissed the mother when she came and I ran out of my room to tell her to give us her son and we would see what we can do.
Now, the gentleman from doing two quick puzzles can now do up to fifteen quick puzzles. So you see that cognitive skills are developing here. The elasticity brain is important and it continues to grow as long as we are alive. It continues to adapt to the environment and once learning comes, it stays. Another testimony was someone who came with no skills at all and now he plays the piano with great skills. Ore ofe is one of the best that we have at the centre now.
Is the tuition free?
Yes, it is free for those in the foundation. For some, we ask them what they can pay and whatever they can pay, we work with it. However, the most important thing is to get the parents involved. You must be involved in the activities, you must come to meetings, for project, programmes and this would help you to understand how to handle your children. However, the speech centre is where we get more of our funding. Some parents don’t pay at all.
We also do some programmes, like the talent hunt concert which is a yearly event. The reason we do this is to make the parents to know that their children are not babies. We have one coming up on the 13th December. We are looking at the story of creation because it is talent hunt.
This is the pioneer programme for parents. We are trying to let them talk about their problems and we can all find solutions together. We already have forms for this, if we cannot solve the problems individually, we can solve them collectively. We match them with someone in their support group and they support them as well as give them counselling. This gives them hope and shared experiences.
Is there anything that you wish government would do?
I wish that government would help us with capacity building for families. I also wish that government would help to train our doctors, help them identify the problem when the children are still very young. You can imagine the thirty-five-year-old that we are working with now and you can imagine what could have happened if we had met him when he was much younger. We would like the government to support sensitisation programmes for families and children. That is the best way to do this.
At what point can this be detected?
It depends on the type of problem that the child has. In Autism, the child cannot pick speech and the respiratory behaviour. But for the other disabilities, there are other ways in which to detect this. For the cerebral palsy, the child’s head is not properly placed by the time the child is three months, cannot walk, and cannot speak at the appropriate time. For ADHT, the attention is very short, and for dyslexia, cannot read, cannot write and cannot communicate.
Did you go for training for all this?
I had to go away for training abroad. I attended courses and I am still attending courses. I go out of my way to call friends abroad on updates and to clarify grey areas. I was in banking for 13years.
How did you find banking?
It was very stressful. There was money because there was money in banking at that time.
You are also the overall winner of Vlisco 2015. What do you think made you to emerge as the winner?
It was the work that we did. Somebody nominated me, that is how it works. Then we went to the polls and people voted for me. Autism won, it’s not Dotun that won.
How has this affected you and what you do?
I have been relishing. A lot has happened. They pamper me, do my makeup and bring fabrics and clothes for me. I look elegant and it’s been a beautiful experience. I have also met a lot of people in the process. I have met great people. I have met wonderful people doing great work in the things that you do. Sometimes you think you are doing a great job, then you meet other people who are doing something really great and you marvel. Now, you analyse what you are all doing and it inspires you to do more.
If you had to advise women in public life, what would you tell them?
My advice to them is that our days are numbered and everyone is watching. There is no way you can behave in a way that would discredit you, discredit your background and think it won’t be talked about. People are watching and we must be careful. Our youths should be patient. In all areas of their lives, our youths are not patient. They are not patient in the work they do, in their relationships and the other areas. I am an employer and I know what I do to get results. Money is not everything; there is so much money cannot do. Unfortunately, we do not realise this. Until it gets to a point when we know that it is only God that propels this wheel that we are all pedalling. It is important that they should be patient and love their neighbours as themselves. It is not about me, me and me.
What would you want President Buhari to do?
Mr President should really come to the aid of families. Families are really suffering, especially those in the field of special needs. We have been trying to get Lagos State to give us land for our permanent site. You can’t even imagine the things that we would be able to do there. In the last ten years, we have been able to support the young ones, mentor them and make sure that the services that they are given are the right services. He should support centres like ours. We are an indigenous centre, the first centre for Autism in Nigeria.
