“AUTISM is a developmental disorder that appears in the first three years of life and affects the brain’s normal development of social and communication skills,” according to PubMed Health.
But Rev. Fr. Adam Gudalefsky, MM, a Maryknoll Missionary from Pennsylvania, described autistics as “normal people who happen to be slow” during a seminar held from June 25 to June 29 at the St. Theresa’s College-Cebu audio-visual room, where Gudalefsky was the speaker, along with Sr. Concepcion Madduma from the Immaculate Concepcion of Mary (ICM) Congregation.
The Special Education (SPED) students and faculty of STC took part in the interactive conference to deepen their knowledge and understanding of special children and their needs.
Gudalefsky said that special children are just like ordinary people who perfectly or imperfectly fulfill their purpose in life. “The number one education is at home,” he said.
But most of the special children are confined in hospitals, and the kind of medication they get is only for their physical well-being, the priest added.
He said these children need special care and attention from their parents and other members of the family to help them fight their disorder and live a normal life. “We all have the same rights to the same things.”
After the seminar, one of the participants said “If ever I meet families with problems in dealing with autism, I have something to share with them.”
Some of the workshop participants brought home copies of the books that Rev. Gudalefsky and Sr. Madduma wrote. /STC Masscom students Zelina Rae Danao and Jessica Jardin