Physicians advocate better inclusion, support for special needs children

Medical professionals and child development experts have called for a concerted effort to enhance support for children with special needs.

The experts emphasized the need for a unified approach to the growing concerns lapses in the current support systems and the need for comprehensive solutions.

The experts, who were speakers at the YBC reunion event organised by the 2002 alumni of the University of Lagos College of Medicine, lamented that there is discrimination against children with special needs.

During the one-week-long event, the alumni unveiled kitchen and ceiling refurbishment donated to the Children’s Development Centre, Surulere, Lagos.

The alumni also organised a free medical outreach for residents of Idi-Araba, and mentorship and coaching sessions for medical students at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.

Speaking in separate interviews with our correspondent on the sideline, the experts called for targeted interventions to ensure equitable support for all children irrespective of their health challenges.

The Chief Operating Officer of the Children’s Developmental Centre, Ebele Oputa emphasised the need for continuous public education and engagement to foster inclusivity.

She lamented the scarcity of specialised centres outside Lagos for children with developmental challenges and underscored the critical need for more widespread support and awareness.

Oputa elaborated on the centre’s advocacy work, including extensive roadshows across 22 states to promote understanding and acceptance of children with disabilities.

The operating officer, however, described the alumni’s initiative as a significant and rare gesture.

“When you see people who remember children and young adults with developmental disabilities, it’s incredibly welcoming. This is part of the advocacy we desperately need,” she remarked.

On his part, the chairman of the 2002 alumni association, Dr Olasode Akinmokun, harped on the moral duty to assist those in need, particularly children with special needs, who are often marginalised.

He said, “I am passionate about people with special needs. And we know that a lot of us in this country still don’t want to accept them, but they are part of us and we will continue to accept them for who they are in our society.

“I would advise everyone, there is no need to discriminate against anyone. There are people with special needs and there are things that they can do to help the community, society and even Nigeria at large.

“So, we will say everyone should accept them for who they are and then continue to allow them to get integrated into society and live their life in full. This is because we still need some of the skills and knowledge that they have to also help build this country up.”

Akinmokun, who is also a Consultant Orthopedic at LUTH, explained that the alumni association organised the medical outreach and also donated to the children’s centre as a way to give back to a society that made them.

He stressed that the alumni’s efforts is not aimed only at providing immediate medical care but also to advocate for long-term societal changes.

Similarly, a Consultant Oncologist, Dr Kehinde Ololade urged Nigerians to intensify efforts to integrate children with special needs.

The cancer specialist, who doubles as chairman, local planning committee for the reunion, also said the event was organized to give back to the community and support vulnerable groups.

He stressed the importance of continuous awareness and acceptance for children with developmental challenges.

Ololade added, “One of the things we’ve realized as medical doctors and dental surgeons are that no matter how great an individual is, giving back to society is greater than that. So, we found out that as part of our reunion activities, apart from the festivities of the dinner, of the celebration, dancing and making merry, we should find a way to give back to the society. So in giving back to society, we looked at two or three places where we give back, and one is to the future of medicine.

“We started with ensuring that we have a mentorship programme for medical students that are currently in the school. That was done on Wednesday. Then after that, we looked at one of the areas that have been involved in our growth, which is the children’s development centre in Surulere.

“One of the things is that we have to continue to identify with them. We have to continue to raise awareness because, you know, it is not far-fetched, the fact that we’re still struggling with a lot of stigma when it comes to children with special needs; children that are autistic, or that are finding it difficult either to move and all that, or they have any growth, deformity or the other.

“So to prevent that and to ensure that they are easily integrated into the society, we must continue to do a lot of awareness.

“We must continue to make sure that they identify with them through ventures like carrying out projects with them, interacting and visiting them in their various centres. In that way, we can raise awareness and help to reduce as much as possible, the discrimination that they are suffering as children with special needs.”