PARENTS TO CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS CALL FOR HELP AND TOLERANCE

By Joey Wa Rabapane | December 31, 2021 | 14h50

Parents of children with specials needs in and around Sekgosese area have come together to help each other overcome the challenges they face daily in raising their sweet innocent angels.

This follows a call that was made few months back by Tebogo Evah Machete, a proud mother to a 12-year-old child diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy from Ga-Raphahlelo village in Sekgosese who was worried about the parents who hide children with special needs. She therefore made a public request through Sekgosese Insider that parents to children with special needs should come together and be there for each through thick and thin.

Interestingly, the parents to children with health conditions such as cerebral palsy and autism spectrum disorder have come together and had their first meeting last week at Sekgosese Insider offices whereby they had shared and addressed the challenges they face daily when raising children with special needs.

Cerebral palsy is a congenital disorder of movement, muscle tone or posture whereas autism spectrum disorder is a condition related to brain development that impacts how a person perceives and socializes with others, causing problems in social interactions and communication.

One of the parents by the name of Adelaide Motau originally from Ga-Phooko village told Sekgosese Insider that her challenge in raising her 15-year-old child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder include having no time to seek for employment because her child needs undivided attention, buying nappies because as old as her son is still uses nappies and feeding him with special foods since he is selective of what he eats.

Some of the children with cerebral palsy can’t talk, walk and sit without support because of this health condition.

“Children with these health conditions are unable to do most of the things by themselves including eating and answering the call of nature. We as parent have to think and act on their behalf”, said Moraba Constance Makadikwa from Lemondokop village who is a mother to a child diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

These parents are also on a mission to teach the communities and raise awareness about their children’s health conditions so they can be accommodated since they realised that there are still people who treats them as less human beings and calling them with derogatory names. This kind of treatment is seen as having influence on parents to hide their children with special needs.

“It’s wrong to hide these sweet innocent angels but some hide them because of how people label them with sort of names whereas some says our children are the results of witchcraft. So it got to us that our society must be taught about our children’s health conditions and we should lead awareness campaigns about this condition like they do with cancer and HIV for example”, Tebogo Evah Machete told Sekgosese Insider.

People can take part in this campaign through donations which may be dropped at Sekgosese Insider offices. The donations may be in a form of nappies any sizes, wipes, food and toiletries which will be distributed to children and adults diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

In case you want to donate or know someone diagnosed with cerebral palsy you may contact Machete on 0726643404.