Bahamas Still Lighting it Up Blue for Autism Awareness

By Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

#TheBahamas, April 13, 2023 – The Centre of Disease Control now places autism at 1 in every 36 children down from 1 in every 56, according to Dwayne Gibson, the Chairman of R.E.A.C.H, who spoke at the 11^th annual commemoration of World Autism Day “Light it up Blue” at Rawson Square on April 1, themed “It’s ok to be a little different;” an event to keep this challenge in the spotlight.

While the US is citing a downward trend of children diagnosed to be on the autism spectrum, for The Bahamas the report is starkly different.

Last year R.E.A.C.H organized and launched an online public survey to ascertain the number of families affected by autism in The Bahamas, unfortunately, the participation in the survey was not satisfactory. Still, Gibson went on to say that they were able to gather information from their office that revealed and increase in the number of children are being diagnosed with mild, moderate, or severe autism.

Gibson, on April 2, rolled out recent initiatives of R.E.A.C.H  including a free respite care service which is offered every Saturday and Sunday, supervised by Special Education teachers from the Ministry of Education.  This allows parents of autistic children to take a break on weekends which is a big help, he said.

Also, R.E.A.C.H is in talks with the Ministry of Education to connect with a well-trained foreign speech therapists to meet later this month with special needs teachers. This is to keep them up to date with the latest and most effective practices and protocols, in order to yield better results with the children.

They are also in collaboration to fly the therapist to Eleuthera to rendezvous and conduct screenings and assessments with special needs kids from Spanish Wells and Harbour Island who would not have the opportunity to access professional help.

Gibson made another important point, noting that the Government’s “continued” annual grant to the non-profit organization, through the Ministry of Social Services, has allowed them to hire a resident Speech Pathologist which has taken some of the weight off of parents’ shoulders to find and pay for private speech therapy services. He expressed that they are able to provide quality speech therapy services to those who are most in need.

While the chairman aptly laid out the progresses and needs, the Light it Up Blue ceremony also made room for the talents of children and teens on the Autism Spectrum to display their talents in singing, music and speaking.  A period of the event was also dedicated to the honoring of a number of special needs children as 2023 R.E.A.C.H  Star Students for their continued development and excellence at their schools.

Needless to say, the children were visibly happy and excited to be have been recognised to an audience which included both the Prime Minister, Philip Davis and the Minister of Education, Glenys Hanna-Martin.

The Prime Minster gave the official countdown to the lighting up of Rawson Square.  The country’s democratic center, located on Bay Street in Nassau, continues to be illuminated by blue lights this month, which best seen during the evening hours.