Tonga marks World Autism Day [1]
Tuesday, April 2, 2019 - 19:53
By Eleanor Gee
Tonga marked World Autism Awareness Day today, 2 April with a morning tea event organized by Tapuaki Mei Langi Autism Foundation, held at Vuna Restaurant at Kolomotu’a.
The keynote speaker at the event, Dr Setoya Yutaro from the World Health Organization said autism is rare but a common disorder.
“We don’t have a figure in Tonga but overall across the world, it is said that 1 in 160 people is suffering from what we call autism spectrum disorder. Spectrum means very severe to light.”
He said about .5% to 1% of a country’s population is suffering from autism spectrum. Out of Tonga’s population of just over 100,000, between 500 to 1,000 people in Tonga have some sort of autistic spectrum disorder.
“Some people may have light conditions that may not be recognized. Some people have very severe conditions they may not recognize as autism but if you add everybody up, it is probably 500 plus people who are suffering today in Tonga.”
He added that many don’t recognize the disorder and are not receiving treatment.
“So, we need to take any opportunity like this to raise awareness so that parents will know that there is a condition called autism and there is some support we can provide.”
WHO has developed more support in the form of training tools such as the Mental Health Action Program to strengthen mental health services in Tonga.
Dr Yutaro said the program is a clinical tool for doctors and nurses so they can assess and manage common mental disorders, such as depression, and psychosis, including child mental health disorders such as autism.
“We are going to do training in Tonga soon, starting in June, so that the doctors and nurses can assess [autism] early in their lives. If they have autistic disorder, they can provide early intervention.”
He said training would also be provided to the parents of autistic children.
“It’s the parents that take care of them 24 hours and it is very important to train the parents and the carers and how better they can support the children.”
Tapuaki Mei Langi Autism Foundation
The founder of Tapuaki Mei Langi Autism Foundation, Saane Faka’osifolau, who has an autistic son, said the foundation was established a few years ago with the aim to secure an area to set up a centre specifically for autistic children.
“At the moment, we are operating from home. However, we would like more parents who have autistic children to join the foundation so they can receive support.”
Parents of autistic children can contact Saane at the foundation on 770 7213 or contact the chairperson Ilaivaha Tovehi at Capital Insurance Group.
The foundation currently has 26 autistic children registered.
This year’s theme “Assistive Technologies: Active Participation” set by the United Nations (UN) highlights that access to affordable assistive technologies is a prerequisite to exercising people with autism’s basic human rights and take part fully in the life of their communities. Assistive technologies include downloadable apps that are specifically tailored for people with autism to help them learn.
The event hosted by the Capital Insurance Group and attended by families and friends with autistic loved ones as well as representatives from the Japanese Embassy, Tonga Development Bank, Dateline Transam Shipping, Tanoa Hotel, Real Tonga, Tonga Red Cross, and Tonga Table Tennis.