Ngusra Group: Helping Children with Autism Disorder in Ghana by Harriet Ngusra

Harriet Ngusra, Chairman of Ngusra Group, discusses autism in Ghana and explains why Ngusra Group decided to focus on this issue as part of its CSR activities.

“Autism is a developmental disorder which is characterized by difficulty with interaction and communication. What we have realized is that a lot of stigma has been placed on children who are autistic. So, we reach out to parents to educate them on autism. We teach them how to care for their children and how to interact with them. Some have even kept their children in rooms because of the stigma. There are specially made schools for autistic children where we send the children, pay their fees, and we interact with the teachers. We give them more education on how to handle these children because they do not behave the way other children do. They need special care. It is a very serious problem in Ghana. I once stayed with a child who was autistic and if you could have seen the stigma that is being placed on that child, it is awful. People prevent their children from playing with them and do not let them get close. Especially if a woman is pregnant, they will stop the autistic child from coming close with the fear that the pregnant woman will also deliver an autistic child. These children feel like they are not part of society. They feel rejected and neglected. There is a lack of information and we are trying to educate the general public that autism is not infectious. There is a lot of training and education that needs to be done”, says Harriet Ngusra.

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