SUPPORT AUTISM T&T (Registered as Autism Support Network T+T

In Trinidad and Tobago, there are  limited services and opportunities available for autistic persons. I will use the Elevate Prize funding to continue to create opportunities; to make education and therapy services equally accessible to autistic persons from lower income brackets and rural area. Specifically, I will focus on these two immediately:

1. The Autism Clubhouse - I will implement and manage a centre where autistic persons can access diagnosis, therapy, counselling and other activities which will help them develop holistically. In this space there will be  sensory activities; a sensory room; therapy services; skills development, volunteer training workshops, etc. Autistic persons from lower income group will be able to access services free of cost. I have already teamed up with C3 Centre, which will provide us with a rent-free space, I just need to outfit it and run it.

2. The Autism Bus  - More than 60% of autistic persons do not leave their homes because of behavioural and sensory issues. Thus, I will use the money to acquire, equip and run The Autism Bus, which will go to rural areas and provide therapy and educational services to autistic persons until they can come to The Autism Clubhouse.

I never intended to become an Autism advocate but my nephew came into my life . From early we recognised he was not reaching  developmental milestones but it took five years to get him diagnosed and another 5 years to find a school - we were turned down by seven primary schools. We could only afford two hours of therapy per week.

I knew I wanted better for him and the only way to get that was to create opportunities myself. So I started  Support Autism T&T to organise events where autistic persons could socialise, participate in sensory friendly activities, spend time with their siblings in a non-judgemental space. I wanted to change the T&T society by starting with the younger generations. Today there are about 400 youth volunteers – they conceptualise, develop and execute all our events.

Since  the past 3 years I write a weekly column in the newspaper for free, so I can educate the public about  inclusion and pressure the government to provide equally for persons with disabilities. My vision is to change negative attitudes towards people with disabilities; to encourage the implementation of policies at a national level. My vision is an inclusive T&T.

The World Bank estimated that one billion people, 15% of the world's population, experience some form of disability. The WHO estimates that one in 270 people has an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In my country the 2000 census indicates that 45,496 persons are living with disabilities; 4.1 % of the population. There is no  prevalence study for ASD, but in recent years there has been an increase in diagnosis of ASD. 

Autistic persons registered with my NGO increased from 85 in 2015 to 450 in 2020. There has not been a correlating increase in services to cater to the developmental needs of autistics. Therapies are not available within the public health care system; inclusive education with the public school system is not available or accessible; adults with disabilities do not have access to employment; and society discriminates against persons with disabilities.

My NGO campaigns against discrimination of  autistic persons and other disabilities by:

• creating opportunities for autistic persons through regular events and activities
• organising Autism outreach programmes throughout the country
• providing basic food items and educational packages for autistics from lower income groups
• campaigning for inclusion of persons with disabilities at a national level
• training youth volunteers as Autism/Disability advocates 

Support Autism T&T is distinguished from other organisations in T&T because of the approach we have adopted.

i. We have changed the public discourse from awareness to inclusion. I believe that awareness is simply not enough. I didn’t want people to just empathize with my nephew, I want him to have equal access to an education, basic health care, a job when he gets older. So, while other NGOs have been calling for awareness, we started a conversation on inclusion and what society/ government need to do to make T&T an inclusive country.    

ii. My NGO has a formidable group of Youth Advocates. The Siblings and Friends Network, the youth arm of Support Autism T&T currently comprises 300 youth volunteers, age10 to 25. We are the only NGO in T&T with youths advocating for a cause. At regular training sessions we:

• educate them about Autism and other disabilities
• teach them to work with persons with disabilities (to do activities such as craft sessions, etc)
• encourage them to develop their leadership skills by letting them conceptualise and execute events and activities for autistics.

iii. All our events/activities are equally available and accessible to autistic person as they are free and open.

Our main aim is the creation of opportunities, equally accessible to all autistic persons in my country. We  give extra attention to autistic persons from lower income groups and/or rural areas. In order to accomplish this, we have done/ currently doing the following:

• Educational drives – providing electronic devices (tablets and iPads) to those who cannot afford them. We also teach them and their parents/siblings to use these devices.  
• Food drives – since March 2020, with covid-19 restrictions in T&T we have been distributing customised hampers with food and medical supplements to Autism families where parents/caregivers are without an income. Previous to this, we have distributed food hampers to families affected by flooding.

Through our strong advocacy for inclusion, we have been putting pressure on the government to implement our Inclusive Education Policy. This has resulted in various meetings of Joint Select Committees to investigate special needs education and we have presented evidence to these committees.

We will continue our efforts to create equal opportunities for autistic persons and to advocate for inclusion of all persons with disabilities in T&T because every individual deserves respect, recognition and equal access to resources so that he/she can live a fulfilling life.