| Ishan Ibrahim |
AUTISM is one of the most poorly understood disabilities in societies of many countries around the world and Brunei Darussalam is no exception as this lifelong mental disorder affects a section of the families in this country.
The Sunday Bulletin talked to the parents of Raihan bin Roslan, a child with autism, to gain a brief insight on how they deal and manage a child with the disorder.
Raihan’s father, Roslan bin Haji Mohamad said caring for a child with autism proves to be very demanding and exhausting, as his or her needs are very different from a ‘normal’ child, especially in the case for Raihan.
Roslan explained that he and his wife have difficulties in communicating with Raihan, and it takes full dedication to make him understand what is required of him.
An example is the seemingly simple instruction to make Raihan sit on a chair; he would not understand the words, but his parents have to guide him in actions on how to sit on a chair.
Raihan bin Roslan with his parents. – ISHAN IBRAHIM
This goes for other requests as well, and this can be time consuming and tiring, but Roslan said patience and love are the key words here to make Raihan comfortable in his challenging everyday life.
Taking him out for walks can also be tricky, as his behaviour is not what many people can call acceptable in the so-called normal way of interacting with people.
In this environment, a considerable number of people would not understand his erratic behaviour, and this takes time for people to fully accept and comprehend his general behaviour.
“We have to make sacrifices for many things in our lives, including time and effort, but we understand that this is a gift from Allah the Almighty so we have to deal, manage and care for Raihan in the best possible way we can,” explained Roslan.
Raihan’s mother, Siti Marfu’ah binti Haji Hasbullah agreed and said one of the challenges in the care of her son is his sensitivity to light and especially loud noises such as a drill, washing machine and other appliances in the household. Loud noises cause some major discomfort to his senses, she added.
In education, it is especially a challenge as many schools would not accept a child with autism due to the fact that they do not have the qualified staff and personnel to educate children with this mental disorder, Roslan further explained.
Especially for routine, run-of-the-mill chores like going to the toilet, changing clothes, these again proved to be arduous and time consuming as Raihan could not do these chores by himself. If left to his own devices, any place in the house would be his toilet, said Roslan.
And Raihan’s safety is also a prime concerned to Roslan and his wife, hence the constant need for their meticulous care and attention to the needs of Raihan’s. Raihan can also harm himself without proper attention such as banging his head against a wall, for instance. This is a tiring safety check for the parents.
They also have to deal with his hyper activeness and behaviours such as this and others connected to autism for the rest of their lives.
But due to the efforts and assistance from Society for the Management of Autism Related issues in Training, Education and Resources (SMARTER) Brunei, their lives have become more bearable especially in terms of educating Raihan.
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