Autism Day Actors Focus on Inclusive Education

The 7th edition of Cameroonian Day of the illness was launched yesterday at the Chantal Biya Foundation.

Autism, a pervasive mental disorder, affects millions of children worldwide. Actors spearheading its awareness are not only talking about the symptoms of the illness but also about how those suffering from it can be better integrated into the educational system of the country. It is against this backdrop that Cameroon launched activities to commemorate the 7th edition of the Autism Day which will be celebrated today, under the distinguish patronage of the First Lady Mrs Chantal Biya.

Yesterday, April 1, 2013 at the Chantal Biya Foundation in Yaounde, the Minister of Basic Education, Youssouf Hadidja Alim, on behalf of the Founding President of the Foundation, Mrs Chantal Biya, opened activities to commemorate the day which is jointly organised with the 6th World Autism Awareness Day. The day is commemorated under the theme "the urgent need for inclusive education in Cameroon, the role of specialised educators".

Youssouf Hadidja Alim used the occasion to elaborate measures government is taking to implement inclusive education with focus on autistic people and visually-impaired persons as major preoccupation towards the attainment of the "Education for All" goal by the year 2015. To that effect, the Minister of Basic Education said government, at the international level, has taken a number of commitments in the domain of inclusive education. At the national level, Youssouf Hadidja Alim said a number of regulatory instruments have been put in place to ensure that inclusive education becomes effective in Cameroon through various laws that make provisions for children with disabilities to attend regular schools.

Just like other speakers, the President of "Centre Orchidée Home", Marie Mélanie Bell said since 2009, after the First Lady participated in the second Autism Forum in New-York, she opened the way for more individual and collective consciousness of the handicapped in the country. Besides intensive work to create awareness about the disease which is popularly considered as some sort of witchcraft, Marie Mélanie Bell said with the help of the Chantal Biya Foundation, the Orchidée Home has opened a school called "Le Pavillion Scolaire Chantal Biya".

An autism expert from Paris, Mylene Lemus, told the press that normal children are good models for autistic children. She argued that the solution is not to create a school for autistic children but how to fit them in normal classrooms. Later during the day, experts met at the Luc Montagnier Pavillion of the Chantal Biya Foundation to brainstorm on the theme of celebration and those specific educational tools that will be useful in bringing up autistic children. Local artists graced the event which was attended by several members of government.