After she realized that her first son, Sahid Sesay had autism, Isha Sesay, a U.S based citizen, felt the need to provide a special care for children living with autism in Sierra Leone, leading to the establishment of a school for children with autism.
Sesay’s child autism condition has not only brought depression to her life, but it affected her relationship with her ex-fiancé. “My ex-fiancé has refused to give birth to another child for fear of re-occurrence,” she revealed.
The young lady opined that just like her, most mothers who has special need kids are single, either because they have divorced or may have gone apart.
She further opined that men cannot handled these kinds of stress, but women do not have option, rather, they accept the challenge because special need kids need care, rather than pity.
“When it was apparent that my child had autism, my ex-fiancé refused to have another child, for the fear that if he had another child, that child will be autistic,” she explained further.
Autism is a disorder involving any of a range of psychosocial conditions, all characterized by abnormal social interaction and communication, restricted interests, highly repetitive behavior and eccentricity.
In terms of the prevalence of autism in the country, recent statistics have shown that the country has about 32,663 persons living with autism, of which children accounted for 12,933.
She described the current statistics of children living with autism in Sierra Leone (12,933) as huge, hence, the need for a special care for these kids.
In Sierra Leone, autism comes with huge stigmatization which is mostly as a result of the lack of education and awareness with regards the condition.
According to a Sierra Leonean medics, Dr. Elizabeth Alieu, autism is not the fault of anybody, rather it is a medical condition.
She encouraged parents that have children with autism to bring them to the Child Adolescent Mental Hospital in Freetown.
Despite the loss of hope by some people that have children with this condition, Dr Alieu is of the belief that their condition could be managed.
Sesay who happens to be the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sahid (her son) Sahid Autism Foundation said she hadn’t any idea about autism before her first son was born. “I came to know about autism when I travelled to U.S,” she disclosed.
The 43-year-old travelled to the U.S in 2008 leaving her one-year-old son in Sierra Leone. But as a mom, she always wants to speak with her son, but each time she called her mom, she gives her numerous excuses. Sesay said that a particular day she was so mad and angry that she hadn’t the opportunity to speak with her first born. According to Sesay, her mom didn’t want her to know about her son’s condition.
Later on, her sister let the cat out of the bag. “I was heartbroken and was depressed too. But I summed up courage and travelled to Sierra Leone for her child, and we both left for the US.
Sesay said she became more confused when doctors in the US, initially could not tell what medical condition her child is suffering from, but later on, these doctors came together with their reports and reached a conclusion that her child had autism. “That was the first time I know about autism. It took me a year for me to accept my child’s condition,” she revealed.
The entrepreneur revealed that communicating with her child is a challenge. “Most of the time, I communicate with him through eye contact, and sign language,” she disclosed.
In terms of the needs of the child, the mother disclosed that when he (autistic child) needs something, he will grab her hand and point to the direction of the thing that he wants. “That is the easy way we communicate and we understand each other,” she furthered.
The mother emphasized the need for support for children with special needs, for they truly need support rather than pity.
