Autism Association of Barbados Marks 20 Years: Addressing Challenges and Shifting Societal Attitudes

The Autism Association of Barbados (AAB) is celebrating 20 years as a parent-support charity and secretary Cressida Alleyne says while they continue to guide the positive shift in societal attitudes towards the condition, some challenges remain, especially for parents of autistic children.

“The information is out there, the awareness is out there. A lot of people are still becoming more accepting, because the knowledge is there, but then there’s some people out there who still use your child’s diagnosis almost against you,” she said.

“I recently spoke to a mother and she was telling me that because of her son’s diagnosis, she had to take a lot of time out from work to see to his medical needs, see to his therapeutic needs, and that affected her work.

“The attitude of persons towards her at her work was one that she is not committed to her job, and that was hard to hear, because I thought we have come so far away from that. But there’s still some of that there and it is our job as an association, I think, to build that awareness and to show people that we didn’t choose this life. This life chose us and we need to do all we can for our children and still be functioning members of society, and it’s not easy,” she added.

Alleyne was speaking during a special service recently to mark the anniversary at People’s Cathedral in Bishop’s Court Hill, St Michael.

The AAB, formed in February 2005, has grown to having over 135 parent members and 75 children. Along with their mission to sensitise the public on the condition, it has also served as community space where parents of children with autism can find support and share their experiences.

Alleyne was pleased with the wide range of information now available on the condition, compared to 26 years ago when her son was diagnosed.

“I find that there’s more information about it out there now. Whenever I tell persons I have a son with autism, I always have this echo back of someone they know who was diagnosed, and then they want the information about it so that they know how they can interact and assist whoever that person may be that they heard have autism,” she said.

April is Autism Awareness Month and the organisation has planned a number of outreach and awareness activities.