Spectrum of Possibilities: Queen Luciano Foundation at the 14th Annual Autism Conference

Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder which affects millions worldwide. It leads to social, communication, and behavioural challenges. Thus, raising awareness and understanding of autism is crucial as a way to provide support and improving the quality of life for those affected.

Despite the tremendous advancements in medical research, many people with autism and their families still face societal stigmatisation, inadequate support systems, and rejection. This gap in awareness and support can lead to isolation and hinder the development of individuals with autism.

That is why the Queen Luciano Foundation, committed to being a voice for the deprived sect in society such as children, adults, women and the disabled, recently participated in the 14th Annual Autism Conference in Lagos. GTCO brought together experts and advocates to share knowledge, insights, and strategies for enhancing the lives of individuals with autism.

GTCO’s long-standing commitment towards autism awareness

Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) is one of the leading financial institutions in Africa with its headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria. It is renowned for its commitment to corporate social responsibilities. GTCO has been instrumental in supporting various social causes, the biggest among them being the annual autism awareness. The annual autism conference is one of GTCO’s flagship initiatives, aimed at fostering understanding, supporting, and advocating for the course of individuals living with autism.

The program started in 2009 as an initiative to ensure the proper management of autism. They birthed it under the Orange Ribbon Initiative which has become globally recognised over the years. They aim to create awareness for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) so that it can be diagnosed early in infants and support the parents and caregivers. They also encourage research in autism and granting adequate support for their parents. They also try to eradicate stigmatisation from society. By organising this event, GTCO seeks to create a platform for knowledge exchange and community engagement, contributing to the broader goal of building an inclusive society.

The different years have their peculiar themes of which this year’s is no exception with the theme, A Spectrum of Possibilities. This shows the various forms of experiences, challenges as well as opportunities faced by individuals with autism. It also emphasises the importance of recognising and celebrating the unique strengths and potentials of every person on the autism spectrum. By focusing on possibilities rather than limitations, one of the conference objectives is to inspire hope, innovation, and inclusive practices that encourage autistic individuals to thrive in all aspects of life.

A journey to Lagos: Queen Luciano Foundation’s commitment to autism awareness

The Queen Luciano Foundation, with branches in Benin and Akure, embarked on a significant journey on July 15, 2024. Our dedicated staff and volunteers travelled to Lagos to participate in the 14th Annual Autism Conference. This event marked a pivotal moment for the foundation, reinforcing its commitment to being a voice for the deprived individuals in society as well as those with autism.

The 14th annual autism conference highlights

The 2-days event was a knowledge-packed seminar filled with presentations from 8 keynote speakers and 4 panel discussions. Before the MC called the different keynote speakers to the stage for each day, a vibrant talented group, Corporate Dance World, presented a drama bordering on the fact that an autistic child has all it takes to attain any level in life.

The Group Chief Executive officer (GCEO) of GTCO plc, Mr Segun Agbaje, gave his welcome speech. He thanked all who honoured the event and their continuous support to enable the continuation of the Orange Ribbon Initiative.

He also pointed out that the annual conference has helped in opening avenues for inclusivity and improving the condition of living for all in Nigerian society. He expresses his desire for the annual project to become a long-lasting one.

It is also worthy to note that the First Lady of Lagos State, Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, graced the occasion.

She gave her speech after the second speaker presented. She hinged on the importance of infusing local content in the education of those living with ASD. This means that in every state and region, people should design a pictorial representation of different situations that are native to each area to guide the autistic child’s learning process.

She also emphasised KISS (Keep it Short and Simple) during the learning process of an autistic child.

Day 1 keynote presenters

1. Lanre Duyil

Lanre Duyil is an internationally recognised behaviour analyst, consultant and founder of Behaviourprise International located in Canada. Hé discussed on the top of “Using Antecedent Manipulation to Improve Learning and Behaviour.”

He sees behaviour as something that someone does in reaction to a previous push. When it comes to autistic children, he highlights the importance of presenting familiar incidents that they understand to push them to behave in an expected way. He further posits that to establish a new behaviour from an autistic individual, we need to arrange an established operation that will gear up a desired outcome. These established operations are what he considers as antecedents. Thus, he believes that we must manipulate antecedents when interacting with people living with ASD. He concludes by pointing out the importance of paying attention to the behaviour of ASD individuals. This is because any behaviour they display shows an existing antecedent whether you, as the caregiver, is aware of it or not.

He reeled out some antecedent strategies to better manipulate desired behaviour and they are,

Peering
Self instructions
Video teaching
Functional communication

2. Eniola Lahanmi

Eniola Lahanmi is a certified speech and language therapist. Her topic was “Fundamental Communication Strategies for Children with Autism.” She started her presentation by defining what it means to be autistic and their different spectrum. Some of them, according to her include,

Language and communication difficulty
Social interaction defects
Speech difficulty
Understanding laxity

She also furthers her speech by mentioning some communication characteristics common in autistic individuals. Features like,

Repetition of phrases and sentences
Interpreting things literally. For them, direct speech without idioms is better
Engaging with nonverbal language means of communication, eg. body language
Speaking in a monotone and strange sound pitch
Tendency to have sensory sensitivities

To better promote good communication ability in children living with ASD, Eniola suggested

Going into the assessment of each individual. This means discovering their various strengths and working on their weaknesses
Developing smart goals for each child
Coming up with strategies tailored to that child
Being flexible and open to different methods and tools.

Moreover, she projected that some general communication strategies that one can implement for both adults and children living with ASD are

Using lots of visual materials
Thinking of alternative communication methods
Using well-structured teaching approaches
Establishing consistent routines
Modelling (using examples) and prompting. These will aid the child’s understanding ability
Putting in social skills training: This means guiding them to practice their learning
Combining words and gesturing: Using sign language
Using a play-based language activity.

3. Nadia Hamilton

Nadia Hamilton, an autism advocate, speaks on using technology to enhance autism management. She is also the founder and president of Magnusmode Ltd, also known as “Magnus Cards.” Speaking on her topic, “Enhancing Life Skills and Independence Through Technology,” she highlighted the importance of technology for the smoother management of individuals with ASD. She advised all present to make available visual guides that will help ASD individuals around the home and the community. Through her technological innovation, she managed to develop a tool that provides a step-by-step way for ASD individuals to live life and learn with less dependence.

4. Benedict O. Sama

A licensed clinical psychologist, behaviour analyst and researcher in neuroscience and ASD, Benedict O. Sama, devoted his speech towards “Autism and Anxiety: Management Strategies and Support.”He explained the various kinds of anxiety-prone to those living with ASD. He argues that beyond the stereotypical behavioural occurrences common with ASD individuals, some comorbid conditions of ASD have been overlooked of which anxiety is one of them. Another one, according to him, is Avoidance and Restrictive Feeding Disorder (ARFD).

Sama went ahead to mention and explain the various types of anxiety to be transitional anxiety and autism-distinct anxiety. For him, the latter comes with uncommon and unconventional qualities like,

Fear of toilet seats
Fear of perfectionism
Fear of balloons
Talking to nonexistent people
Fear of transitions
Change of environment

To better manage these anxieties,.he advised parents and caregivers to employ modelling methods and to practise functional communication strategies.

5. Panel presentation

The panel sessions were in 2 fold. Both panels comprise 4 keynote speakers. The first panel participants include Joanne Anokwuru (moderator), Bernadette Kilo, Osezusi Bolodeoku, and Noimot Balogun. They discussed “Developing Early Support Programs for Children with Autism: A Guide for Parents and Educators.” They border their discussion on the various critical support programs for children with ASD. They also highlighted the importance of parent-teacher collaboration for successful early support programs for children with ASD.

They advised parents to first accept the condition of ASD if diagnosed in their children and limit living in denial. They conclude by emphasising on IEP (Individual Education Plan) for the learning process of children with ASD. They pointed out that therapists and teachers should create separate plans proper to every child’s strengths and weakness

The second panel was handled by Lanre Duyil (moderator), Mashudat Bello-Mojeed, Tonye Faloughi Ekezie, and Modupe Imasogie. They looked at “Navigating Life Transitions: Addressing Puberty and Adulthood Challenges.” Their topic borders on the management of the experience of puberty of an individual with ASD. In their discussion, they mentioned that psychiatry does not have many roles to play in the life of an ASD child such as,

Diagnosing ASD,
Examining other conditions that coexist with ASD,
Collaborating with other professionals,
Writing referral reports to other professionals.

They also pointed out some of the early signs and behaviours that show that an ASD child is approaching puberty. They believe that these children experience the same body changes as those living without ASD. However, they believe that there are some concerns that caregivers may have when they have autistic children approaching puberty. Some of them are

How to make them understand their body changes
How they keep them safe
How to teach them body management.

To navigate through this phase, the panellists advised parents and caregivers to,

Start early to prime the children for the coming changes
Have a clear-cut goal and document the process
Educate the children on their body parts before sexual education
Teach them self-care and pronunciation
Teach them the sensory parts and let them understand touch sensations.

Day 2 keynote presenters

1. Tomi Agboola

For her own presentation on issues associated with autism, Tomi Agboola, a speech pathologist, looks at “Communication Across the Spectrum.” For her, some of the communication and behavioural strategies that caregivers and parents can employ include gestures, visuals and speech stages. She also mentioned spectra of communication and they are,

Pre-Intentional stage: When people do things without any direct influence.
Intentional stage: When there is intent behind action.

Moreover, she believes that people living with ASD are more likely to pay attention if you follow their leads when trying to impart knowledge to them. For her, still, this means that, as a caregiver, try to be in the child’s zone when you’re in a session with her. She explains that this strategy makes them feel more relaxed to follow your learning.

2. Modupe Imasogie

As the second speaker for the 2nd day of the event, Modupe Imasogie, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, spoke on the topic, “ASD and Psychiatric Comorbidities.” As connected with the mental health of ASD individuals, Modupe highlighted some common mental issues associated with ASD as

Anxiety
Depression
Epilepsy
Sleeping difficulties

3. Bernadette Kilo

A developmental paediatrist, Bernadette Kilo, discusses the benefits of detecting children with autism at the early stages of their lives. Speaking on her topic, “The Importance of Early Detection and Intervention in Autism,” she highlighted the different stages of development of an autistic individual and some behaviours common in each stage. For instance, at 0-5 years, the child is most active. It is also the age of neurological pruning. As they age, they might not have the ability to initiate play, they don’t follow instructions, and they might look at people from the corner of their eyes.

She advised an early intervention for such children to help them develop their full potential in the early stages of their lives.

4. Ade Otubanjo

Another speech pathologist, Ade Otubanjo, looks at the topic “Communication Milestones.” During his presentation, he outlined different types of communication as,

Verbal communication: speaking and articulating words.
Nonverbal communication: body language, facial expression and body contact.
Visual communication: use of pictures.
Written communication: putting down words in writing.

According to him, when a child is non-communicant, frustration happens and misbehaviour increases.

He, furthermore, delved into the milestones of communication, which are important for understanding and supporting autistic individuals. Some of the key communication milestones he highlighted are,

Normal language milestone
Responding to their names
Nonverbal communication
Imitating people
Developing play potentials
Engaging in conversation
Understanding and using correct pronouns

5. Panel presentation

On the 1st day of the event, there were 2-panel sessions on the 2nd day. The 1st session had Joy Ovioje (moderator), Nadia Hamilton, Remi Olutimayin and Camille Proctor discussing “Promoting Independence and Life Skills: Exploring Strategies for Teaching Independence and Life Skills.” Their session focused on strategies for teaching independence and life skills to individuals with autism. The panellists discussed various approaches, such as:

Structured Teaching: Using visual schedules and task analysis to break down daily activities into manageable steps. This will help individuals with autism learn and perform tasks independently.
Assistive Technology: Implementing tools and devices that support skill development, such as apps for daily routines and communication aids.
Community Integration: Encouraging them to participate in community activities to practise life skills in real-world settings, thus, enhancing social interaction and independence.
Parental and Caregiver Involvement: Training and involving parents and caregivers in teaching life skills, ensuring consistency and reinforcement at home.

The 2nd-panel session got Solape Azazi (moderator, Eniola Lahanmi, Afeez Abdulrazak, Ade Otubanjo and Bode Abifarin together to discuss “Challenges and Solutions in Teaching Communication Skills.” They addressed the difficulties and potential solutions in teaching communication skills to individuals with autism. They looked at:

The importance of early Intervention. Watching your child in his early stage of development to detect abnormal signs.
Employing augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC): This is the use of AAC methods, such as picture exchange systems, sign language, and communication devices, to support individuals who struggle with verbal communication.
Social Communication Training: This means developing social stories and role-playing scenarios to teach appropriate social interactions and improve conversational skills.
Use of IED form of learning: Recognizing the unique communication needs of each individual with autism and customising interventions to suit their strengths and preferences.

The 14th Annual Autism Conference in Lagos was a transformative experience for the Queen Luciano Foundation. Our participation reinforced our dedication to work towards including autistic individuals in our mission and vision which borders on intervening for the deprsved in the society which includes children, adults, women and the disabled. The insights gained from keynote speakers and panel discussions will inform our future initiatives and programs.