This forum successfully elevates neurodiversity from a private struggle to a matter of national policy through strategic institutional partnerships. It is a vital step in replacing systemic stigma with a structured, science-based framework for social inclusion.
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ing battles that often go unseen. Some struggle to focus. Some struggle to fit in. And some spend their entire lives pretending to be normal. This is the reality. Parents, members of the mental health community, ladies and gentlemen, this morning we are truly honored to have you join us for the second edition of the mental health forum. Uh this is the mental health forum 2026. We know how admittedly we like to be selfish with our weekends and so we appreciate your presence here this morning. Now the purpose for our gathering this morning we are trying to attend to a growing reality that needs to be attended to.
Available data suggests that one in every age group of people has a mental health condition. It is a development that cannot be overlooked. And so this morning we're going to try and find solutions as to how to deal with people diagnosed with mental health conditions so that we do not treat them as uh outcast of the society. And uh I'll just take this moment to acknowledge sponsors for this event. The mental health forum 2026 is sponsored by Ili Pinocchio KGL Foundation, Lelay Pavlon and Gome Gardens. It is also partnered by the premier mind and wellness clinic. Premier mind and wellness clinic is actually behind the entire organization. And so if you are a patient of mental health conditions or you know somebody please all you can do is to log on to the premier health uh premiermind and wellness.com and uh this is the uh leading mental health clinic offering expert therapy and the physiatric care for depression, anxiety, ADHD, autism, addiction, trauma and more both in person and at uh a crack clinic and online across Ghana. So you can just log on to the website at premier health and uh let me just be right premier mind and wellness clinic and you can get attended to and be given the very best of mental health related services. It is also partnered by the premier aesthetic clinic, the ministry of health, diaspora affairs, office of the president, bell laqua, chocolate sari, Ghana physiological council multimedia group that includes join news and joy FM. Uh so thank you very much once again for being here this morning. We're truly honored to have you. I'll just like to introduce our first speaker for the day.
And as I said earlier, available data suggests that one out of eight persons suffers from mental health conditions.
And so uh the one thing that affects us here in Ghana is the fact that we like to shy away from uh discussions, you know, surrounding mental health. And so this morning we are very fortunate to have the founder and the lead of the mental health forum because she has been open to discuss issues about mental health and she presents her lived experiences. She was diagnosed later in life with ADHD and this is the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and uh she has of course transformed lived experiences into advocacy and has used her platform to educate families uh challenge stigma and create support systems for individuals who are navigating neurodeiversity and mental health challenges. And of course through her rehabilitation center I just told you about and uh mental health forum this very event she continues to create spaces for very difficult but necessary conversations and uh inclusion awareness and supports for people diagnosed with various types of the mental health conditions. And so ladies and gentlemen this morning join me in welcoming the founder and creator of the mental health forum Jiara Osman.
Hello. Uh good morning.
Um I want to say thank you and welcome once again to the mental health forum 2026.
Uh last year we had our first forum 2025 and I'm excited that this is continuing and we're channeling our energy into topics as this year's topic is autism and ADHD.
I would like to welcome everybody uh representative of the minister of health Dr. have fees. Uh Ghana Library Authority, uh distinguished speakers, parents, uh students, educators, uh policy makers. Uh I am excited that you are able to join us this morning and I hope this uh conversation it's going to be impactful as we leave here. Uh for those who are not able to be here, I hope this conversation goes beyond this room.
My name is Jiara Osman and I am the founder of the mental health forum. I was diagnosed with late ADHD about five years ago and I took it upon myself to share my story to allow people that have experienced what I have experienced to know that you are not alone.
The journey of being autistic or being ADHD is a neverending journey.
And once you know who you are and the society know who you are, I think leaving becomes a lot more easier.
Today we are gathered here not only for a conversation but a movement, a movement towards mental health.
The most important movement is understanding which is very key and this is the that is the whole um that is the whole passion that I have about this mental health forum awareness not just as people uh diagnosed with autism and ADHD but awareness for parents for teachers for society For children diagnosed with autism, it is one thing, but for parents who at a very young age found out they have children with autism, it's a journey that nobody tells you. It's a journey that has no beginning and there's no for future. You don't know where to look and you don't know who to ask and there's no playbook as to how to raise a child with autism.
So together when we gather, we gathered to learn from each others.
As educators, I am well aware there are special needs teachers.
But special needs is not just for special needs teachers. But special needs training is for everyone. parents and all educators because once we all know how to take care or to manage children with autism, we create a better environment for them.
Mental health is not luxury.
Neurodeiversity is not a weakness. I actually consider it a superpower.
Once you know how to use that superpower, you can channel it into something beyond this world because your brain works different.
At the mental health forum today, our mission is to create a space where people feel seen, heard, educated.
We want to bridge the gap between mental health profession, educators, policy makers, caregivers, and the public. Because real change starts with conversations.
Beyond social media, beyond actions within our homes, schools, and health care system, and communities.
For the past few months, my team and I have worked diligently. We've visited autistic care centers, parents, interviewed parents, spoken to policy makers about how to bridge the gap.
Today, every parent here should know that you are not alone.
every child here with autism or ADHD, your mind is not broken. Your difference is valid and you deserve a world that understands.
I also want to take a minute to thank our partners, sponsors, volunteer and healthcare workers that are able to join us today. We want to say a very big thank you to the Ministry of Health, Ghana Library Authority, Bell Aqua, KGL Foundation, Pinocchio, Chocolate Sarai, Elie, Premier Aesthetic Clinic, which is my business, Premier Mind and Wellness, And if I forgotten anybody, I'll take a look at it again for all your support and we hope that we continue this journey with your support. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Please, let's do it better for her. It takes courage to open up about a mental health diagnosis considering how we shy away from it in this country. Jahara, thank you very much. Please another round of applause for her again.
I mean clearly we are all trying to be advocates not just attendees for this program. We all trying to be advocates for mental health and it cannot be done on an individual basis. That's the reason we always need that strong collaboration. So on the back of that I will introduce our guest speaker this morning and our guest speaker is uh the he represents or he's one of the key institutions he represents one of the key institutions at the center of Ghana's health care system. He currently serves as a director of technical coordination at the ministry of health and continues to contribute to conversations around healthcare delivery and public health systems. Uh distinguished ladies and gentlemen, please help me welcome Dr. Hafi Adam Tah. He's with the ministry of health and we know that as I mentioned earlier we like to be very selfish with our weekends and so if you're not able to join us this morning it's fine you can always join us digitally and that you can do that on YouTube I'll just get you the link it is live on YouTube at the mental health forum GH you can log on and uh join us digitally Dr. I say that's yours, please.
>> Thank you very much, Madame MC.
We're supposed to have the director of this college, Madame Jihara Osman, a hardworking individual since I got to know her particularly in theatic area we are dealing today.
She's a founder of this uh initiative.
The representative of mental health authority, distinguished guests, all invited stakeholders, members of the media, ladies and gentlemen, good morning.
Oh, why? We didn't take prefers this morning.
Good morning.
Wonderful. So for me today's activity comes as a second privilege that I had when it was launched.
I think I had the opportunity again to represent the Minister of Health during the launch and today is the main activity and so I consider it a privilege to have been invited as a special guest of honor for this important forum on mental health and indeed to represent the Ministry of Health at the Mental Health Forum 2026 organized by Premier K.
I would like to first and foremost commend the organizers for this uh their ability to pull this together the initiative and for creating a platform to promote conversation around mental health particularly on this year's theme attention deficit hyperactive disorder in short ADHD and autism spectrum disorder. Distinguish participants, mental health remains a critical important of overall health and well-being.
Yet conditions such as ADHD and autism spectrum disorder continue to be misunderstood.
It's also undiagnosed particularly because of capacity.
We also aware that it surface stigma in many of our communities.
This is why this forum is so extremely important because it creates awareness, encourage understanding and promote inclusion and support for individuals and families affected.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, as a ministry, we recognize the growing need for mental health education, early intervention, accessible support system. And we also acknowledge the efforts of health care professionals, educators, and caregivers, advocates, and organizations that continue to work tirelessly to improve mental health outcomes in Ghana.
Ladies and gentlemen, indeed the ministry of health together with the mental health authority and partners has undertaken a number of initiative to strengthen mental health delivery in Ghana.
This include but not limited to the implementation of mental health act 2012 act 846 which provides a legal framework for the protection of the rights of persons living with mental health conditions and the promotion of quality mental health care services in Ghana. The ministry has also continued to expand community based mental health services by integrating mental health care into primary healthcare delivery across the country to improve access to early diagnosis, counseling, treatment and psychical support. And indeed when about three weeks ago when we launched the primary healthcare at doa mental health was central as part of the services that will be enhanced at the primary level. So distinguished participants the ministry has also continued to expand community- based mental health services as I said by integrating it into the primary healthcare delivery system.
In addition, government continues to invest in mental health infrastructure and human resource capacity to improve service delivery nationwide.
Furthermore, through collaboration with the World Health Organization and other development partners, Ghana has participated in initiative aimed at improving mental health awareness, reducing stigma, promoting human rights, and enhancing the quality of care for persons living with mental health conditions. As stakeholders, we must continue to work collaboratively and build a society where mental health is treated with the same serious and compassion as physical health. We must encourage open conversations, reduce stigma, and ensure that individuals living with neurological development conditions receive the care, support, and opportunities they deserve.
to individuals living with ADHD and autism. As a ministry, we affirm our abilities and functioning in society and will continue to institute measures to ensure that your well-being and development are central. I am particularly encouraged by the presence of our partners and stakeholders here today whose continuous support is critical to the to the success of our collective efforts. Most importantly, it is the participation of the media in this event that is very important because you are to sell us out to the public. So your contribution towards awareness and advocacy is deeply appreciated and we encourage you to do more. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, as I conclude, I encourage everyone here to also take the knowledge shared today beyond the forum into your homes, schools, workplaces, health care systems, and communities.
Awareness, creation, and understanding of mental health issues is the first step in reducing stigma towards people living with mental health conditions.
And so on behalf of the Ministry of Health and on my own on behalf as a guest of honor, I once again commend Premier K for organizing this impactful and important forum and for contributing meaningfully to mental health awareness in Ghana. I thank you for your attention and wish you all a successful and insightful forum and pray that may good lord protect us and bless our homeland Ghana.
Thank you very much for the opportunity.
Thank you very much. No, you cannot go yet. Please wait for a second. Dr. Hafi, I want you to stand by me for a second.
We know that recently uh Ghana launched the free primary health care. In fact, it was spearheaded by your ministry.
Does it cover mental health?
>> I'm sure maybe you are reading your messages on WhatsApp. That's why you didn't hear me. In fact, I emphasize on that that mental health is and was central when we launched the primary healthcare. A reason why we'll be building capacity because when it comes to the primary health care level, we are looking at the scope of certain conditions that can be easily handled by nurses and community health nurses and others. But we've raised a bar and we are subjecting them to building their capacity first of all to be able to detect early and then secondly early detection and so the management of it.
And so there's no doubt about the fact that the free primary healthcare in fact that's even the most important thing not just primary healthcare but the fact is that is free at that level and you know we have three levels where you have free primary healthcare at the lower level where you go for ailments and other things. And then you have the second phase of it where you go to the health centers and then the district hospitals where you now be required to use your NHIA card. And then the third level where the his excellency president Mama came out with the beautiful idea that look apart from the free primary healthcare the NHI there's a level of certain conditions that you may get to that your NHI would not be useful to you because you would have ended the scope of the services that the NHIA covers and so what happens for instance if you have chronic renal failure and your NHI says that you are only to receive this set of treatment beyond that what do you do if you don't have money what do you do so that financial obstacle it is what the Mohamad cares the Ghana medical transfer now comes in to say that yes you've gotten to the limit of your NH services or coverage you don't have money >> now the mama cares now takes over >> and then that's the third level of it so that is what we are doing now >> thank you you understand why he's the guest speaker for today thank you very much Dr. her you can take a seat now and uh we know that mental health cannot thrive in the absence of education that's the reason this morning we're very pleased to have with us the Ghana Library Authority and so the next person to take the stage is Victoria Duncan Emisa she is the head of national children and mobile library at the Ghana Library Authority uh can we have you on stage now please a round of applause for Okay, >> good morning.
Standing on all existing protocols, I bring you warm greetings from my executive director, Mr. Al-Hassan Ziblim Bentichi, and I'm honored to deliver this address on his behalf.
It is a privilege to join you today at the mental health forum 2026 held under the important theme autism and a ADHD.
I must commend organizers particularly the team behind this initiative for creating a platform that encourages honest conversations, awareness, education and advocacy around mental health in Ghana.
Today's theme is particularly important because it reminds us that mental health conversations must become more inclusive, compassionate, and practical.
At the Ghana Library Authority, we believe that libraries are not merely spaces where books are stored. Libraries are safe spaces for learning, for healing, for reflection, and human connection.
As head of a public institution that serves people daily, we encounter patrons with various backgrounds and with different lived experiences, including neurodeivergent children and young people on the autism spectrum who visit our libraries with their shadow teachers, with their parents, with their caregivers for lessons and learn learning activities.
Through these interactions, I can confidently attest to the fact that books, quiet spaces, and access to knowledge can become medicine for the mind.
These daily experiences have taught us that library spaces must remain judgmentf free zones where every individual, regardless of their condition or challenge, feel seen, they feel welcome, they feel respected and included.
Ladies and gentlemen, research continues to highlight the powerful connection between reading and mental wellness.
Studies show that reading for just six minutes can reduce stress levels by up to 86%.
By lowering cortisol levels, slowing the heart rate and easing tension in the body. This reminds us that reading is not only educational, it's restorative.
For many of us who work within the library spaces, forums such as this also equips us with the knowledge and tools to better understand mental health, support our patrons effectively, and even manage our own emotional well-being.
At our libraries, we consciously work to build inclusive communities where those on the spectrum and those that are not on the spectrum can learn together. They can thrive together. they can interact without stigma or discrimination.
This in this commitment to inclusion remains central to the mission of the Ghana Library Authority. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I wish to use this opportunity to make a simple but important call to action. Across our library spaces are numerous resources on mental health, books, educational materials, digital resources, and professionals who are ever ready to support patrons in assessing credible information on emotional and mental well-being.
We must take advantage of these free and accessible resources to deepen our understanding and strengthen our support systems.
We often encourage our patrons that just as they would confidently ask a librarian to help them locate a book on finance um finances or business or career development, they should never hesitate to ask for assistance in locating key resources on anxiety, on autism, on ADHD, on depression, stress management or all the other mental health concerns because asking questions is research.
Arch and applying knowledge is advocacy.
Ladies and gentlemen, just as mental health professionals and advocates work tirelessly to support individuals through difficult journeys, libraries and professionals also stand by ready to make that journey smoother through information through empathy and access.
Our doors remain open, our resources remain available. And above all, we want every individual to know that they do not have to go through this journey alone. Let us continue to build communities where empathy reduces stigma, where understanding overcomes silence, and where access to knowledge becomes a bridge to healing and hope.
On behalf of the executive director of the Ghana Library Authority, we once again commend organizers of this forum for this impactful initiative and for prioritizing conversations that matter deeply deeply to the well-being of the society. Thank you very much and God bless us all. God bless us all.
My my takeaway is that reading uh is the antidote for mental health. Right, Madame Victoria? Reading is the antidote for mental health to a very good extent.
All right. Thank you very much. Please let's give it up for her once again.
Now, globally, autism diagnosis continues to sore. It is pretty much on the rise. And if we bring it to the local level, this happens because some people as I mentioned earlier shy away from conversations relating to mental health. But this morning, if we want to understand how to treat people, especially uh who are on the autism spectrum, then we need to hear from some families themselves as to how they've been able to deal with raising kids who have autism. and uh briefly we'll be discussing beyond the diagnosis the realities struggles and strength of raising children with autism. I'll be doing that with a panel and I'll just go uh quickly and introduce them. I will first have Mavis Asanua Opuku. She is a public health mental health officer at the Acra Psychiatric Hospital and the executive director of the Rob Foundation. Mavis, can we see you? Give her a hand, please, as she comes up on stage. The next person to join us on stage is Amina Soa.
She is a parent and a grandparent navigating the realities of supporting a child with autism. Amina, where are you?
Please join me on stage.
The third person will be Noah Elum Dati uh whose parenting journey includes raising a child living with autism and uh cerebral pulsy. Can we see you please? Can you join us on stage?
We will also be speaking to this morning Deborah Jakpasu, also a parent of a child with autism who continues to advocate through lived experience.
Deborah.
All right. And finally, we have Olivia Akele, also a parent of a child with autism. She's bringing her personal journey and perspective to today's discussions. And it it is worthy to note that all these people or majority of them are here with their children so they can better speak to the subject matter. Once again we are discussing beyond the diagnosis, the realities, struggles and the strength of raising children with autism. Uh please give them a hand for joining us on stage. And of course they are all here with their children as well. And so I'll just take my seat and then the engagements begin.
You need to clap for me too. Thank you.
>> All right. So, I'll just start first of all with you Mavis. You are the public health officer. So, I mean you have the wealth of knowledge when it comes to mental health uh rel disease in this country. First of all, tell us how often is autism diagnosed in this country?
Hello. Okay. Thank you very much and it's a privilege to be part of such conversation because um it's just recently that we've seen that in this part of the country we begin to talk about such conditions autism and cerebral pulsy and down syndrome. People don't even understand it. When we still explain you can see a parent who has a child with Down syndrome and you ask oh what's the problem? Oh, they said my child has autism. Meanwhile, that is down syndrome. So, it's actually a very good platform when we get the opportunity to educate the public on on such conditions. So autism definitely it is people are now getting the the diagnosed because now even for regular education if you want to send your child to school especially with some of the private school you have to send your child for assessment >> right >> and people wait in fact it's even until that level people begin to know that oh my child has a problem. So all this while you see this child moving around without parents knowing that they have a child like that. Under rare circumstance will you people bringing their child to the psychiatric hospital to assess them unless it was recommended.
>> Is it because of the stigma?
>> Because I don't think that people can easily and confidently walk into the psychiatric hospital. They're afraid of being tagged as mental patients. We hear that all the time.
>> Yes. Even those of us working there sometimes some of you like, "Oh, don't worry. You behave like your patient. I don't know how my patients behave, you know." Yeah. So, I don't think it's just the stigma. I think it is their knowledge and the understanding. So you see before you see them bringing a child to the psychiatric hospital for assessment, it's either the the child has been referred or the mother is seeing something extreme. Those are the instances that you see them bringing the child to assess for assessment. And most assessments are even done outside the psychiatric hospital. Most of the assessments are done in the assessment centers and the um organizations that actually um takes care of persons with disability. Okay. But now due to publicity, due to education, people are becoming aware of their children. So if you see your child doing anything extra or going beyond what we are all seeing because now there's education people can now you can even ask somebody what autism is and the person even if the person cannot explain the person might have heard what autism is then it's actually helping people to bring their children for assessment. Now teachers are being trained on how to assess a child. If you are in a classroom with a child and you are seeing um anything that the child any behavior that doesn't look like a regular child. So now even the teachers are helping out to um take you know bring out these people for proper assessments to be done for the diagnosed to be reached.
>> Okay. But for somebody who hasn't gone through this education is it easy to support somebody with autistic traits.
>> Um initially in fact initially it was no because initially we have to even be diagnosing autism at the age of like you know teenage age before. It's not that it is not obvious. It is obvious but we are refusing to accept the fact because a child with autism we know that autism is not a physical condition. Autism is a neurodedevelopmental disorder. So as your brain grows so we expect that by the time you are two years you should be doing this. By the time you are three years even our weighing books the book that we go for weighing with it has a developmental um pathway in it. So at every time is being chat then they see the nurses asking you is your child talking? Is your child doing this? We are only assessing to see if the child is hitting the right milestone at every point in time. So if you notice that your child is having a communication problem at a particular age, you see that your child is not able to interact with peers, you see that your child behavior, you will definitely see it.
But our our should I say the understanding, the acceptance is not there. People are not willing to accept the fact that my child has a condition.
Even if you are telling the parents, so when we're writing the basic education certificate examination, we were moving from one school to another school. Even at the mere looking at one particular child, you can see that this child has a problem. And even the teachers were encouraging the parent to send the child to assessment so that they can you know work around reasonable accommodations for the child and parents were still saying no there is nothing wrong with my child. God forbid no my child is okay.
So it's not just only about the stigma.
Maybe it's the stigma that is they are worried that they want people they don't want people to know that they have such children but I think the understanding and the acceptance >> is not there.
>> Okay. Before we wrap up on this conversation, you would tell us or teach us how to accept some of these conditions. But I'll place the focus now on Noah. You are the only man in our midst and you have a child with autism and cerebral pulsy. How did you find out about this?
Okay. Um, thank you very much.
It all started with a shock because from the beginning I have been seeing it around in the hospitals. Anytime I go to the hospitals, I've been seeing it around and I find it difficult to believe that um um this thing does exist. But until it happens to me >> one day um when um I noticed from the child birth of my son >> and um from the month of um from 3 months to four months he's supposed to sit actually when you put the child down supposed to sit as for me myself uh I'm a construction worker so I'll be going to work all the time but the mother is with the child So I know nothing about um um the child wellbeing. So one day I was uh at work and the mother called me. Ah the child is not sitting. Whenever I put it down he falls back.
>> That's after 3 4 months.
>> Yes.
>> Okay.
>> When we put him down he falls at the side and front. So something is wrong.
We should take him back to the regional hospital where it all started. It all started when um they gave birth to him 7 months, two weeks, two days.
So in the hospital the following day early in the morning the midwife told us that um he she has noticed some yellowish sometimes at the at the eye >> which is um um join this. So we should rush him to the original hospital.
>> That's right at birth.
>> Yes. right up. But >> okay, >> he was born at midnight. So early in the morning, the midwife came and saw saw that. So we have to rush him to the hospital, regional hospital. It took about 3 hours journey to the original hospital. So when we we got there, they they admitted him and they started working on on him. So we spent about two months in the hospital until he got treated. So they they discharge us back to the house. So 3 months time, four months, that was when the whole thing started. So in fact it came to a shock to me and we went back to the hospital and we are admitted again for 6 months.
So from that 3 months to the next 6 months it has not be easy and they referred us to Kibu from Central Regional Hospital to Kibu.
So you came from the central region.
>> Yes.
>> Down to Kibu. Yes. Okay. How old is your child now?
>> It has been extremely difficult >> now. He's 8 years now.
>> He's 8 years now.
>> Yes. And >> so 8 years with a child with autism and cerebral pulsy.
Talk walk us through the difficulties.
>> The difficulties have been with raising a child like that. As at now for the past three and a half years, I've been raising my child alone >> alone.
>> Yeah. I've been the father and the mother >> without his mother.
>> Yes. For the past 10 years.
>> What happened to his mother?
>> The mother left after um our marriage got broken. We got divorced and later on she came to my office and dumped the child on me that um I should take my child. she's pursuing her life on so I should take my child and I have no question he's my son so I have to take him so I took him at the beginning it was extremely difficult because because I was working you know construction you have to go to work early in the morning so I have to employ somebody to come and take care of him in the house >> so I will leave the person with him in the because the time that I go back to the house, I will see my son with bruises all over. I mean, it's not I mean, so the money that I've been spending is is going to waste. So, I told the woman that I I can't let him do let her do this anymore. So, I let her go and I tried to do it myself. Within two weeks, I was not going to work. I was with him alone.
>> Okay.
>> In the house doing everything.
>> So, so what happened to your contract?
Um I was queried and I was suspended for 3 months for not coming to work.
>> Did your bosses know?
>> Yes, my bosses know of my my son condition.
But they said um I have to employ somebody to look after him. So I I did that and later on I decided to do things my own because I I realized that my son is is suffering. So I have to take him back to the hospital. So I'll be going to the hospital with him and they have been advising me and be diagnos um doing a whole sort of um um um test to see what is actually wrong with him. So later on they they saw that it was cerebral pulsy.
>> Okay. And this was after how long? That was when he was one and a half years to yeah one and a half year to two years when we came to Kibu they referred us back to trauma hospital waiver for a specialist bones specialist.
So we went there and that that was when the specialist told us that it was um Sha Py.
So I have to take the challenge on myself alone.
So I later on realized that I have to go back to work because I need money to take care of him.
So I employed another person and >> take care of him.
>> Yeah. To take care of him in the home.
And every week um she takes thousand Ghana cities every week.
>> So that's about in a month on the average you pay 4,000 Ghana.
>> Exactly.
>> And I realized that even my salary is not enough. So then I have to let the person go even though she's taking good care of him.
>> The second caretaker also left because she couldn't afford.
>> Yes, I could afford. So I have to do it myself. So I was doing it and then um I wrote back to work and I pleaded with them and they took the query off and then they took me back to work again as a supervisor. So my salary got a little bit up.
>> Okay, that's good. Kudos to your bosses.
>> So that was when I realized that I have to take my work seriously because I need to take care of my my son. So um I pleaded with my mom. She's now 80 years.
I pleaded with my mom here in Ara that things are getting difficult. So I flew with my son for the past one year, two months and it's not getting better. So she should help me take care of my son.
He said grandson. So she accepted it and I brought my son to Ara um to my mom. So it's me, my mom and our house caretaker who is sitting there with my son who has been taking care of my son for the past almost two years now. So I've been going from Cape Coast to Ara every weekend to come and help my mom take care of my son for the for the past three and a half years.
>> Okay. Please can we show some appreciation? This is this is very tough. But is he enrolled in school? Is he in school at the moment?
>> I've I've tried getting him to school.
I've gone round round but the fees are huge.
some pay in Dallas >> because of his condition >> some P in Dallas I can afford even the lowest one I went to um somewhere in Akusu there's some there what they are taking is even lower than the rest that I've gone through but it seems um without toiletries you are going to pay like 4,500 >> Ghana cities or dollars Ghana cities >> okay >> for a year then the toiletries will be coming every month. So if you add the toiletries to it, it's almost about 7,000 Ghana cities.
>> Oh yeah. Okay.
>> And I think I can't afford it. So I have to leave my son with my mom for us to be managing him like this because he can't walk, he can't speak, he can't sit, he can't do anything unless you do everything for him.
>> Okay. So, what does his future look like from where you sit?
>> Pardon?
>> What does his future look like from where you sit?
>> I'm traumatized.
>> As for me, you're traumatized.
>> Yes. As for me, >> I think I My heart is broken. I never saw this coming. He's my only child.
>> Your only child?
>> Yes. He's my only child. Because of him, I can't continue my life again. You cannot remarry >> because how I mean how am I going to cope with another marriage?
>> Even the relationship that I've been having if they come and they see my son within one month they walk away.
Even my own family they neglect me because of my son.
I I think it just goes to Mavis's point that when it comes to acceptance is a bit of a difficulty. You know what? I'll let you hold on. Your story is getting really emotional. We can't cry. But let's take another story from Amina. You are a parent and a grandparent whose child has autism. Talk to me about your story.
Okay.
Autism.
Wow.
Papa the mic.
Okay.
Foundation.
But before they have a mental health, special school OB taking advantage of because of the condition.
years.
Years for every Saturday.
The revelations are really shocking. For those of you who don't do not understand uh what she said, she talked about the fact that her child and her grandchild have all been diagnosed with autism. And unfortunately for her child, she's been taken advantage of on two occasions and has gotten pregnant. The first child had autism.
Okay. Okay. I see dealing with condition books.
special child.
Ordinary ordinary people.
Even special has Because why?
Okay, please let's give it up for her.
This is very emotional. Okay, we can take the story of Deborah Jakasu. You also have a child with autism.
Tell us about it.
>> Beautiful African prince dress. Okay.
More problem.
All right.
Did school.
Because of our condition After seven days, Because of In fact, chair.
Okay.
last last year.
Yes.
Because It's a Madame Sasha Penn.
First, Stay there.
Toilet first.
Mama 18 18 years.
Yes.
Madame problem. I mean, Madame Sasha to deal with this because after me because Foreign speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
Please, let's appreciate Deborah. And I think it's really fair at this point to appreciate Jiara Osman as well because she's put together a really wonderful initiative.
Special special children.
Madam Sasha, this is free.
Wow.
Okay. Okay.
Please Deborra Japasu once again and I think it's fair to bring in Olivia at this point. Olivia is also a parent with a child with autism and she's also going to talk about her personal journey raising such a child.
Okay.
Okay.
Experience first of all saying last month.
>> So, okay. You've been living with him for the past 10 years. Okay. Experience.
Okay. Uh we may have to give her a few seconds so that she can tell us her story. It's it's I mean if you've been listening to all these stories, it's clearly really emotional. It is not an easy thing. Some people have lost their marriages among others because they have children with autism. But yeah, you are very strong even to you know climb the stage to want to share your story.
>> I am a firstborn. I was at the age of 21.
Okay.
But sometimes One month trauma for two weeks. After weeks, okay?
months.
Then a problem TV station.
Army for 6 months children hospital from there.
But before Okay.
I had because of for 6 months It was clearly the condition because very often Parents of the behavior.
Sorry.
Sorry.
In fact, first I I think we should all appreciate She's very strong for doing this.
But at least most of them boys.
There was a time because of area.
Why are there chest infection?
Because of sometimes Yeah.
More than five times.
Aggressive. Sometime like access to the car.
Okay.
Fine.
Sometimes looking nice.
Why are there >> you know maybe I'll wrap up with you shortly but I want us to give the mic to Madame Sasha you have to tell us why you do all of these things for free the kind of assistance that you've offered so let's get the microphone to Madame Sasha she's going to tell us >> it's very important I have one program with her she has a parent and caregiver support group I also have a parent and care support group but if you look at what she does at her end it's really amazing >> madam We would like to hear from you at least for a minute. You need to let us know why you do the things that you do.
>> Please. That's the superwoman helping with autism related issues.
Thank you very much. And thank you for my mothers for appreciating what I do for them. actually didn't know they they appreciated it this much until listening to them. Now, >> do you run a foundation first of all?
>> Yes, please.
>> Salia Cares Foundation.
So, it's a foundation that was inspired by an experience I had in a classroom with one of my learners. She actually had a hearing loss that I didn't know.
So I realized that even with people who are educated, it's not all of us that are able to identify and help these children.
I decided to get to the community, get those people that I overlooked, put them together with the knowledge that I have with special education needs and then give it to them for free. Because I think basically the reason why most people are not going for assessment and going on with interventions is financial reasons. So if I am doing it for them for free >> because the treatment is expensive.
>> Exactly. If you are asked to go for speech therapy, you need to pay. So as I was giving um Joanna speech therapy for free, we are seeing results. Assuming she was asked to go for speech therapy elsewhere, she would have still been um nonverbal. But now she speaks and we are working on her confidence.
>> You can tell how Dana laughs. I mean just look at that.
>> All the kids are like that at my hand.
At my end I have about 30 of them and 15 of them are modeling now. So there's this project I started somewhere last year ability in disability. We started with arts, some of them were drawing and then we did this bead making thing. And this year I said let's venture into modeling. And I have 15 of them that are doing >> with autism. Yes. Who are running >> cerebral poly, autism, down syndrome and physical disabilities. Yes. So I have all of the disabilities you can think of. All of them are there. I accept all of them. So they model and we are invited to events to come and model.
They like doing those things but their parents didn't know that they could even do them. So we just unleash their potentials, guide them through it, give the caregivers the necessary understanding they need to have about these children and help them at home cuz going for um professional help is expensive. So that's just it. The motivation.
>> Well done. Please let's appreciate her better. That's Madame Sasha. She's the savior of these women here. Mavis, let me just wrap up with you. for all of these people, what sort of institutional help do they need?
>> Um, I don't even think we need an institutional care. We need a community- based intervention because even now with the mental health authority now, we are doing community care services just like um honorable is saying. So I'm in charge of community mental health in greater ARA and we are saying that you are supposed to access health care or mental health care service closer to you because one the transportation two the availability of um the p the resource persons. So this is not even we don't even need because we are shifting away from institution care. So we need community based rehabilitation services. So now if you look at um our mental health service now you only come to the psychiatric hospital if you are referred or if you need admission now every hospital every health center every chip compound has a community psychiatric unit that you can assess. So at least it reduce cost and it reduce um um should I let me say cost and time and it also makes it easier for somebody to assess health. I remember um speech therapy as at those time I also have a child with special needs. So that was the motivation to actually start putting women together and as at that time the only place you can access speech therapy was quibbu and the quibbu I'm talking about if you are to go today the next appointment will be in about four months time. So as at that time what happens to your child but now at least they are speech therapy even still grandpo it's not like something you can actually assess and it's not cheap special needs services in this country it's not cheap >> on the average if you're going for speech therapy how much do you pay on the average >> it depends on where you are going for that speech therapy so yeah it depends on where you are going >> at the government hospital it is 50 cities per session Even that 3 months 3 months will get up and tell the therapist is not is not there. So you can just imagine meanwhile these therapies are therapies that needs to be done on daily basis. So normally we recommend >> they're supposed to be done on daily basis.
>> Best >> but here it is done in every 3 months.
>> 3 months is when there is space for you.
>> If there's space availability >> what's the problem? Because we have only one speech therapist taking care of 260 patients and every day he has to sing and there are new patients coming >> the whole of Ghana.
>> Oh no >> just in Ara >> just in Ara one speech therapist in Ara is better. I sent I was shocked that day I didn't know whether I should cry or I should match a demonstration to the ministry of health. We wanted an assessment for a child in eastern region and eastern region doesn't have an assessment center the whole and eastern region stretches from um what is the name the kbo area ah to the aam planes and ends at my hometown order that is eastern region and the whole of this church doesn't have an access and like a a government assessment center so if you're in the eastern region and you want to assess assessment you have to come to Ara so let's bypass eastern region small aant region is now region. Move a little bit to the savana to the buno inside Kakra. You have to move all the way to Ara for assessments.
>> Is it that we do not have speech therapists that are being trained?
>> They are trained.
>> What exactly is a problem?
>> They are trained but they are just a harmful. Even the psychiatric hospital >> apart from Ankafu and Pantine training us, we are done. So if they distribute us how many is left to go somewhere else.
So the problem is the the facilities are there but the people are not there to work. That is why that that gap is we are trying to close that gap by training health care professionals by training teachers by training people who can understand what we are saying to give the kind of services that we want it to be given. So it is expensive expensive.
If I tell you I took my daughter to one school and the school fees they mentioned I wonder if people are in Ghana here and they are able to afford that school fees then we have to change our profession because >> do you have an experience yourself?
>> Yes I I I have a child with specialist she wrote BC this year >> and that's why we are advocating for parents don't leave the child >> and she's among the third person to have Down syndrome to write BC in the whole country.
>> Well done.
>> It's sad. It's very sad and this is a country that has um rectified the UN conventions on the right of persons with disability with authorities with three.
>> Do you think the issue also has to do with lack of will to want to help these people?
>> In fact, >> did you see commitment enough commitment?
>> So, initially the commitment was not there. People felt that their children are useless because in quotes please.
Yes. So if I take care of this child, what will I benefit? I have four children plus her. So if I want to pay >> I think even in Deborah's issue, she was asked to to give the the child to the water or something like that.
>> Oh yes, even me in ga here me greater somebody to in fact I was even I was even still working in the psychiatric hospital as at the time I delivered. So you can just imagine it's not even about too far as in I'm an illiterate. No. And the person was like oh dear you've tried all option if it is not okay let's try the way and I was like so sometimes you have to become flexible university I was like okay let me see what happened and he was like oh when we get there don't worry they will do something to see like the child's you know then later they will add the herbal medicine for you I said okay sister I picked my daughter how was she here I didn't even go to how Was she just here?
I entered into a fine building. Oh, like a fine building. I entered and the outside look fine but the inside looks like a forest because there are shrines everywhere with snaps everywhere.
And that instance I begin to pray because I told God that you know under no circumstance will I come to such a place. I was only curious to see if there's because I was tired.
And the man was like sit down. the spirits are here. We have to call your your daughter's spirit to see why she came in the form she came in. I was like, "Oh god, what has what have I done?" And you know, it's it's not fun like as today I'm saying it, it looks funny and you'll be like, "Ah, even at your but when you get to that level, >> it is a different issue."
>> And I just sat down and I was just praying to my God, blood of Jesus, blood of Jesus. I was like, "Where have I?"
And the man was chanting heavily. She could have even said, he could have said anything and I would have believed. And the next thing is that where your daughter was coming from, he was married to a and he didn't seek permission from the before coming and therefore they presented her like this and I was like okay so what is there to do sister >> was that was there going to be a divorce between she and the >> I in fact I in that instance it I didn't even know what to even say or do at that time. So the next question will be okay what is there to be done and they were like okay I need to present a cobra a cobra cobra see the number of eggs they counted there are some animals it was now that I noticed they don't even lay eggs they actually give birth but that they were asking for all those eggs plus 3,000 Ghana cities that is 13 because my daughter is 40 that is 14 years ago plus 3,000 Ghana cities that time that was 30 million so you can just imagine me now I'm even find difficult to eat with all these eggs. So I asked them that okay when we go what is going to happen? They are telling me that there's a small river. They will leave the eggs beside the river and leave my daughter around it and the spirit um the husband will come for her if not I'm telling you I would have still gone for that option because having a child not knowing what to become of her in the future as we all sit here we have children that we are aspiring to become accountants but I can tell you for a fact those of us here we know Our children can never get there even with this kind of system we live in. Because when you give birth to a child with special needs in Africa, >> it is not government matter. It is just you and your child. Even when they are saying that there are government policies like the disability fund and ma you get there and you still don't assess it. We have mothers five years, six years when they call in the complaint, I don't even know where to pass.
That is the the kind of system we live in. The system is not disability friendly at all.
>> Okay. So for you what will be the way forward briefly?
>> I think the way forward is still doing the advocacy and allowing parents themselves to do the advocacy because sometimes it's not just about getting the help but you understanding it and you speaking out.
Mothers are doing exceptionally well because they are now beginning to understand. They're talking about it.
There should be an open conversation.
You >> have a fantastic father here as well.
>> You see I met him I think I met him.
He's part of our parents and anytime we have you know program you see him and he start mobiliz he started mobilizing fathers to be part of the conversation >> okay >> because our fathers are running away from us for which reason I don't know I think we should be start jailing them instead of doing paternity test we should start jailing them if you refuse to take care of your child with special need so the advocacy the put know making them to be part of the conversation we need to talk about it we need to encourage ourselves I was when I saw my daughter writing the BC see me one whole week I didn't go to work I was just there and she was like mommy go back go back you know she was so happy and this year we were able to manage for 80 students in the greater a region to write BC and we will set up breakfast centers in the various health um schools just to motivate them that they writing BC I think those things can also help >> okay so we'll just take the final words from each and every one of you starting with you Deborah what should be done to come to your aid when it comes to dealing with issues like this one.
In a situation like this one, husband.
My sister Madame Could you imagine Remember?
Okay.
Now swear.
Evench.
hospital.
is better. Okay. Okay. Noah, what about you? What will be your final words?
>> Um, thank you very much. Um, I thank um, Auntie Mavis um, for the wonderful work she has been doing for us.
My son there, I've taken him to about 15 shrines.
Yes. just to out of desperation because it came to a time that I need I wanted to kill myself and leave him so that I'll be I I would just go because the pressure is too much because now if you you take him out from the house and bring him back to the house you have to take an Uber or drop in at least in and out 500 Ghana cities. Yes. In and of cities.
My only source of happiness is when whenever I see him and he smiles back at me and I started crying. He smiles. I started crying. He smiles. Then I stopped crying.
Um if I should have had a little money on me at the early stage like I think he should have work work by now. All I want for my son is to work so that I can also take him to school and also concentrate on my work and my future. So my my my my my my appeal right now is medically. I think if my son we attend to medically he can he he he he can walk or speak.
>> Yes. And there's some devices he can he can walk or speak.
>> Okay.
>> And then education wise at the age of eight years still at home.
>> He can still go to school.
>> Yes. But the reason why I've not taken him to school is that every two weeks I spend 8,000 7,000 to 8,000 toiletries is feeding alone Ghana cities and my salary is just 3,500.
So at the end of the month I going for loan soft loan to attach to my salary to to feed him. And it has been it it's even driving me crazy. I've been out of the world for some years now. I'm just managing myself sitting here.
It's not me >> because I'm going through a lot. So that's the only help I need medically and taking.
>> You want to get assistive devices?
>> Yes. Even taking me to school.
>> All right. All right. Thank you very much, Olivia.
school with school more than five.
But my broch.
Every year sometimes I say ma school.
Sometimes 6 months.
Because Please let's appreciate each and every one of them. I've been talking to uh Mavis Asantooku. She is the public health mental health officer at the Acra Psychiatric Hospital and also the executive director of the Rob Foundation. I've also been talking to Amina Sawa. has a child and a grandchild with autism. Noah Elamati has a child with autism and cerebral pulsy and Deborah Japasu also a child with autism.
And finally, Olivia Achille also has a child with autism. But I think that I a lot of you may be curious about some of these conditions and so the floor is open for questions. If you have any question you kindly walk to the microphones situated in between uh us and then you can ask your questions to any of them. We can do that in the next five minutes. So we move on to the next panel. If anybody has a question kindly move on to the you do please come forward.
>> Please check if it's on.
All right. So I can talk.
In fact, listening to the accounts of this one of the strong woman sitting >> that's Olivia.
>> Yes.
>> From the beginning you could hear um accounts that a lady um a midwife or a nurse you know treating her in a way. So I'm pushed to ask this question. Um, can the negligence of a nurse or a midwife attending to a pregnant woman during child birth result in a mental health condition in a child?
>> Okay. I think that goes to Mavis. Is that a possibility?
>> Yes. Yes.
>> The negligence of a of a nurse or a midwife >> negligence can actually do that because all what we are talking about these are not genetic conditions. Even though like you can trace some kind of genes can actually um end up you know to a child but this is deprivation of oxygen to the brain and in god own wisdom a woman they tell you push the oxygen supply to the brain of the child seizes so that the child comes out for the oxygen outside if the child lays in there without coming out for that particular duration oxygen to the brain seizes and when it seizes it causes a lot of damage to the brain because don't forget that the child brain is not all formed before it comes out. So as it comes out it comes to continue with development. So oxygen and blood supply is what actually keeps the brain functioning. So when there is a sization in this supply it actually damage the brain. So whether it was as a result so neglig um labor steps in you start feeling contraction your moment you start pushing oxygen supply cuts off so if the nurse or the midwife in fact for let's put it negligence let's put it that way that can actually cause a child to have a >> All right thank you anybody else with a question for please walk to the microphone >> hello please let Please like our mommy said mine is negligent. When I gave birth to my son he was okay. He only had hea. We saw it like 3 months time. So he was okay.
Nothing was wrong. So when he was like so the ha we started going to hospital for maybe a surgery. So normally we talked to friends and they were like oh the surgery. So he was 1 year 8 months I was working I had a shop I sell food Nigerian food I was 27 then so 1 year 8 months I I was busy because of my work so I was like okay then let me go for the hya because it was big so let me go for the hya so that he can when he's just two years old he can go to school then I'll just focus on my work I I regret every day. So we went Kofidia Central Hospital. So we went, we did all the assessment. They gave us the day to come for the surgery. I'll never forget.
Are you good to go? Yes. Okay.
My son went to the surgery room. We were waiting for my son.
We waited. They waited. They waited.
When they came to call us, my son has been on coma. He was on coma for 5 days or 6 days.
The doctors came and call us that when they were doing the surgery something went wrong and maybe when he wakes up he will not be like the way he was before. This is the exact words they told us.
>> So this was clearly the fault of the medical professionals there.
>> My son was fine.
My son was walking. He was talking. It was only we went to do after the surgery. So the third day they told us he was on coma. It was prayers and prayers before he woke up. When he woke up he was blind. Everything is off.
We were at the hospital for some two or three weeks. They were not telling they never told us anything again. The the treatment of the treatment was very bad.
When they even come to assess they don't even mind us again. But we were paying whatever we need to pay.
So I told them that we needed a transfer to Kalibu. So they wrote whatever they want to write and they transferred us to Kalibu. That was it. We went to Kalibu for some 3 weeks or so. They did whatever they had to do. We spent money.
We spent money.
They couldn't tell us anything. And the only thing they told us was what the doctor said there is true at then still he wasn't talking he wasn't doing anything. So when we came to the house we started going Herba and that we started going to her but thank God for the hera if not for the hea I think my son couldn't have been like this because at that time it became bad very very bad the way he he he got blind but with prayers with prayers eight months time I went to the hospital again when they saw me in Ghana here.
Maybe is is there a way you can demand for compensation >> to to be sincere? Later on I fought and fought and fought and they gave me 20 >> 25,000.
>> Yes.
>> That was a compensation.
>> Yes. And What? What?
Like I knew what I wanted to do but I went to radio stations.
I look for lawyers. Nobody will help me.
Sometimes I even went on Tik Tok.
Sometimes when they see your video they think you are looking for money.
I when they call me I'm like I don't need money. I need help for my son.
Because so now I don't understand why like my son was healthy and it wasn't like maybe the HA was seriously that is why we went to the surgery or something we did everything that we need to do so if something is wrong and you tell me that maybe it can be like malaria that is why it happens like that so now I don't get it anytime I I find a doctor I ask them because anytime They will be like maybe is the anesthesia can be like that or maybe in the surgery room.
Unfortunately a mistake can be but there are also sometimes when I ask some of the doctors they will be like for a surgery for a surgery is not a big surgery for something like this to happen.
>> So every day since then I've never been myself again. Any time I asked myself if I knew I couldn't have done it, now I'm at home. I've become like a beggar.
Someone who is working. I had like five workers that I pay them. Now I'm at home. Even if you sell food with this guy, nobody is going to buy. They will not buy. I started something at home.
Like maybe for that one, it's just a normal thing that someone can buy. They started buying small small. Later on they stopped.
So now even me starting something again, I'm scared. I don't know whether they will buy or not. It's it's >> okay. Thank you. Thank you very much for sharing that painful experience and we are very sorry that you've had to go through that. Hopefully at the end of the forum we'll be able to find ways to assist you one way or the other. My lady had a question. Please walk to before you do she comes in.
Um, please, my name is Dolorence and I wanted to ask Madame Amina about her daughter's situation. She said her daughter has autism and then she got pregnant and had another child. I want to know how um the process was the situation was having a daughter who has autism and being pregnant and how she also managed through that process.
>> Okay. Thank you Dolores.
difference.
Sister Normal hospital.
Okay.
Okay. All right.
>> Okay.
you know because of time we may not be able to take every other question but they'll be here from now till the program ends and so you can go to them and then ask your question so please unfortunately I'm not able to take your question but after the program you can just go and speak to them but thank you very much uh I've been talking to these wonderful women and uh gentlemen they've been telling me about your deal having to live with children and even grandchildren dealing with autism and uh cerebral pulse policy for Mr. fact please let's appreciate them but if you paid attention to your speech one thing was very clear they are all asking for support and I see a lot of millionaires here so you know at the back there's a table you can just go there and make your donations and if you want to do that digitally you can also do that you can donate using the short code star 415 star 3089 hash I'll go over again. Star 415 star 3089 H# every monies collected will be given to them to help them deal with their ordeal. And also if you don't have uh mobile money or you want to make it physical you can please just go to the back there and make that donation in cash. Uh you know you can also donate at the website at www.mentalhealthforum.
I'll go over again.
www.mentalhealthforumgh.com.
That's the website.
www.mentalhealthforumgh.com.
There's also the momo number at the back there. So once you get there, you can donate. I see so many millionaires here.
Okay. In a bit I'll be giving the mom number. So I'll just make that announcement as well. But please as they take their seats, kindly appreciate them for us.
This is the mental health forum 2026.
This is the second edition and we've been here since morning trying to you eliminate stigma associated with mental health diseases. So we are not doing this alone. We're fortunate to have sponsors such as Ili Pinocchio, KGL Foundation, Lelay, Pavilon, Gome Gardens, and we are partnered by Premier Mind and Wellness, the premier clinic for mental health diseases, Premier Aesthetic Clinic, the Ministry of Health, the Diaspora Affairs, uh that's the office of the president, also Bell Laqua, Chocolate Sarai, the Ghana Psychological Council, and the Multimedia Group, that is Joy News and Joy FM and its related affiliates across the country. Okay, there's a lady you want to ask a question. We'll take that briefly and then invite the second panel.
>> So, hello to everyone. My question is um to the stakeholders and today we are looking at autism and ADHD but um I I want to divert a little bit. I'm talking about um dyslexia. I think they all disab different types of disability. The problem I have is I'm a teacher and then I feel like um the system the educational system looking at the BC doesn't take into account the different abilities of students in the sense that if a child is dyslexic that is not really neurological but it is a learning disability which is also based on the way your brain brain is wired. So we have dyslexic, we have disaculia, we have disgraphia. It's different ways that they struggle.
But here is a case. This child with dyslexia, disgraphia, disaculia is writing BC on 10 subjects with a child who is high brains or moderate brains.
And so at the end of the day if that child is able to show ability in certain subjects it is not considered the child could be good with computing. The child could be good with arts. The child could be good with um technical I know they have different techni technical creative skills and all those. The child could be good with this thing but maybe might be struggling with math might be strugg because because dyslexic you know when they read they forget when they writing B they write it in D it's a whole lot and you know even with the dyslexia there are stages we have the moderate we have the high ability and I mean moderate high and severe and then the child ends up writing BC with everybody the system is not taking in consideration these things and so they they are denied of any opportunity that can help them build a career.
>> Okay.
>> And it's very serious because I have a dyslexic son and he is very artistic with drawing and I think computing >> but the other subjects he has a facilitator he has all the assistance. I I became a teacher because of him. But I asked myself how is he going to write all the 10 subjects? Okay, in a bit we'll find out because I have my next panel coming up shortly and we're discussing from awareness to action improving autism supports education and mental health care in Ghana.
Okay, I understand our convenor would like to answer that question. But before she does, let's just welcome on stage our next set of panel. And here we have Stella Amako. She's a developmental intervention specialist and CEO for Sky Train Therapy. Stella.
Also joining us on stage is Ida Aloti.
She's a special educator, ADHD, and autism.
The third person would be Buoa Glover.
She's a mental health advocate.
And lastly, Grant Abbe Kubeden Bio. He's the head of programs autism awareness care and training center. Please join us on stage for uh the second panel discussion.
Okay. Okay. So, whilst they join us, can we just pass the microphone to Jiara so that she gives an answer to the question that was asked?
Can we get the microphone to Jara, please?
All right. Uh I just wanted to take a minute to answer her question about um dyslexia uh children studying school. Um so we're working with the ministry of education and as you know uh the mental health authority and uh ministry of health uh we're working with educators to bridge the gap between mental health neuro divergence and education. As she mentioned uh children with autism have a different brain pattern than neurotypicals.
So, uh, the school system needs to include special timing. Uh, when you're writing an exam, a child with autism or ADHD may need an extra half an hour or an hour to finish the exams. Um, our studying system, children with autism study better with uh with their hands.
They do more with arts and creative. So we're working with Ministry of Education, Ghana Library Authority 2 to set up workshops to educate teachers, parents and uh any family if you have any child with autism learning disability to engage in how we're going to make uh policy changes to include and not just to uh include but to include families in there to integrate that into our system. So children with autism don't need to be sent to special schools. They need to be in regular schools. But inside the schools, we need to have teachers that are trained on um children with special needs and learning disabilities so that they can be in the classrooms as teaching assistants to uh create that environment for the children to be accepted and also to guide the teachers themselves as to how to manage children with uh learning disability.
the autism, ADHD. So, I just wanted to make that clear.
>> Okay. Thank you very much. That's Jahara Osman. She's a convenor of the mental health forum. In fact, we need to take another person to join us on stage. And uh that's Susanna Simpson to join us for a conversation. She's a marketing lead and HR professional in employee relations at Nature's Spouse Academy.
Welcome ladies. Now Ida because we left off on an education note I'd like to come to you.
Has the system educational system been accommodative enough when it comes to being diverse for every child irrespective of whatever medical condition that you have.
So um I would like to support my woman.
Yes, there she is. Hello. So my name is Ida Lut Brown. I work with Mission Pediatrics.
And yes, although it's a neurodedevelopmental facility, I work mainly with parents, educators and a whole lot. And that's the reason why I would love to add just something small to your concern, help you understand something. So currently there are several policies as we all know and yes there are what we call accommodations to support all neurodyivergent people and just as you know with the varying ranges comes varying privileges that one would need. Someone might just need a bit of extra time. Another person would need a prompter. Another person may need a scribe and another person may even need rest breaks. And these are all provisions that are available currently here in Ghana. I know for a fact that these privileges are given they are given to our learners who are neurodyivergent.
But to be able to assess any privilege or any accommodation, then you need to go through that process. And the process usually starts with you undergoing an assessment, getting your report, making sure that you send that report to the schools in which your child is. And please, an experience I've had this year is that some of our parents sent their reports, but some did not follow up.
You know, we have resource persons or the special needs educators who are the ones under government. They are resource persons for specific um communities or they are called special need coordinators.
When your report goes to school, it needs to also be moved to them and then in whichever jurisdiction they find themselves, they forward it to the original. But that is after they have filled a number of forms. They have completed certain things. They have added up the fact that your child needs probably 30 minutes extra time or an hour extra time or probably needs a prompter or all the varying things that the report would have said that this particular child would need. So they put those things there. They fill their forms and then they also forward it. So it goes through a process and that is where we need to ensure that it is happening. Remember when I don't know whether you were here when Mavis was sharing her experience of her daughter who got her accommodation she got the accommodation because it was requested for she was assessed first of all the report was sent to school they followed up on it unfortunately our system isn't smooth sailing where we tend to just request and then that is it because in some other foreign curricular schools that I have worked with they just come for the reports we do assessments, they give them the reports, the schools get it and online they just input things and it's a scent.
We don't have that. We need to follow through that process. So please, the accommodations, they are plenty and they are all available for us.
Thank you. Now to my question, I want us to find out how accommodating our educational systems are for people with diverse medical conditions.
So, in talking of accommodations, I think I explained it earlier or I didn't. Did I? I didn't. Then I'm not going to explain what accommodation is in in giving support or in getting the children to have those breaks, those extra time, those other things that they need. I have earlier explained that it goes through a process. So let's say I am in um a school. It doesn't and one thing I must say is that in Ghana it is it doesn't matter whether you are in a private school under Genius. I'm talking about Genius here. So it doesn't matter whether you are in a private Genius school or a public genius school whichever one you fall under you are still under Genius. So with either GES schools in whichever area you just move on to go for that support that the person needs. But one thing I must say is that sometimes our parents we tend to see that a child needs help education wise for learning disabilities. Yes, you don't get to see them. It's not written on a child's face. Neither is it clearly visible that this child has this or this child has that. And that's the reason why we have something that we call the hidden disabilities. And for hidden disabilities, it cuts across whether the child is on the spectrum, whether the child has ADHD, whichever condition the child has, those ones are the hidden ones. And that is totally different from the physical ones that we tend to see that oh this child has probably a hearing um impairment or has a visual impairment or has this or has that. When you notice that a child has a hidden disability or the teachers in schools start complaining that I think madame your child or daddy your child is not studying the way we want or we think the child is supposed to study. That should be your first point of call. That should be your red flag. Aside that also look at how is the child behaving? How is the child conditioning him or herself? How is the child interacting with people?
These are things that we also need to be concerned about. Educators would always be prompting because they have a scheme of work they are supposed to to make sure that they achieve. They also have things that they have as rubrics to guide them. And when they prompt you as a parent that the child has a need, quickly move on from there. Go the step further. Seek for that support for the child. And in seeking for that ch support for the child that is where you would get to be assessed you get to have a report you would get to have recommendations in that report and those recommendations are what will tell someone that oh so this child would probably need because the child is unable to sit down because the child is unable to stay focused in class like the other regular education kids I think this child would benefit from getting some rest breaks. Yes, it is allowed even in school with a report binding that child. The child gets to have all that support if the child is unable to read. And one thing I must add is that it doesn't necessarily mean that the fact that oh I'm I'm running around all long. I am not able to sit like my friends. I I'm this. It means that is my only thing. Just as someone may have BP, may have a diabetes, may have all other conditions. The same way a child who has a neurodedevelopmental condition can have multiples of it. So the child that is when it is said to be a co-mobidity.
So with that co-mobility the child can have other varying conditions. So the child is assessed. You get to know that okay so these are the things that the child is currently struggling with or this condition is what the child has.
What next? How do we support that child?
That is where the recommendations are there for the educators for even the parents because we want you to know what you can do even at home. So it is not just a school's responsibility. It is not just a parents responsibility. It is an all round something that each and everyone tries to put in something to help. Thank you very much. I'll come to Stella MCO now because she said please take the mic from her. She talks about the fact that it's an allround solution. We we need to be collaborative enough to you know put this stigma especially to an end. And so how then do you come in? Um, hi everyone. My name is Stella um from Skyne and I want to thank the organiza organization for this opportunity and um I want to thank the parents who are brave enough to sit and talk about their condition of their child. You see the first thing for a parent to be able to help their child is acceptance. being able to accept that my child needs help and they have done that. And then the second step is being open about it and not worried about what people's going to say about you and being confident enough to talk about it and get that help. It takes a lot of energy and I thank the parents for speaking up and as my sister was speaking a lot of things was crossing through my mind as she was talking. So I'm going to break it down so the English doesn't sound so foreign so we all have understanding.
18 months to two years old.
Notify the your doctor.
Notify your doctor.
Selective food. Notify your doctor.
notify your doctor.
>> So that's not a normal thing.
>> No.
>> If your son or your child is tippy to notify your doctor. You see at the 18 months your child should at least have 10 words.
Mostly parents wait till their child.
The reason why I'm speaking tree and I'm mixing it up because I've been in Ghana since October and I want us to understand that autism and at differences right the difficult part of it is having parents to come to the terms that they use that language and it's hurtful and people don't want to come up right and you you you you have a hard time understanding why people are not getting diagnosed is because of the language right and I want to say this for sure it's a matter of differences and the differences shows in different levels you have a level one level two and level three and America being a therapist we don't deal with levels anymore because people children evolve so much and if you put in the work as these parents has put in the work you see the results so we don't want to be all English but we want to bring it down and I give an example if they stming their hands is in your face see your doctor if they're very if they're flapping they're very selective yes we understand that when a children is really involved in watching TV and watching YouTube, they're not going to hear you. But you need to understand if it is continuously, then you need to seek help.
You don't need a diagnosed to seek help.
18 months, two years old, don't wait till that child is three school age. If they're having a hard time socializing with other children, you need to seek help.
seek the help.
>> So these are very basic things that we tend to ignore.
>> Yes. Don't and and and it's okay because most of us never had a child on the spectrum. HD I want to bring that up.
And then you say oh no don't do that.
Get help. be realistic. Acknowledge it before I give the mic to the next person. Another way of healing autism or reversing autism is through food.
You have to be intentional. You don't need a doctor. Once you get the diagnos, right, that's what my sister was saying.
Once you get the diagnosed and and and and they don't talk about it a lot, you somewhere Gian completely.
And somebody will say, "Stella, how does changing my food looks like?"
You know, I'm so like overwhelmed with working with snacks being juice and cookies and everybody's so affluent now that we eat KFC and Burger King and pizza and and and processed food. And I'm not attacking anybody, but if you want healing, even for neurotypical children, if you want your child to be able to sit still and focus and being engaged and listen to what's going on, it has to start from your home.
And if you want to you want your child to compete at a level where they need to compete with everybody, then the teacher starts with a parent. So then what I would say is if you have a child on the spectrum. So now I've given you a little bit about symptoms, things to look for, right? They're not talking, they're tippytoing, they're not responding to their name, you um they're not saying mama or dad, you know?
seek the help. Even if you know Bible says that prayers without works is dead.
I'm speaking to a parent and just seek the help.
So now let's move on. You have accepted say he's autistic. You accepted or at come to skyra the first thing I'll tell you change the food. Change the food.
Change the juice. Food is the basic step.
>> And then let me even break it down.
Okay. You say too much carbs.
A child on a spectrum.
When they are not drunk, they're very very subtle and calm. But when sugar hit the system of your child, you see all the symptoms and then I want to move on then I'll give back the mic to the experts. I want to empower parents. You see all the uh uh positive encouragement that you have heard is because as a parent who never gave up.
It's work. And if you're not ready to put in the work, me personally as a therapist, you can't come to me if you're not ready to put in the work. If you're not ready to change the food, if you're not ready to get the knowledge that even though my child is on a spectrum, I already shared that it's just differences in the brain. Every child can be thought to use the bathroom. Please do not enable behaviors.
When you take charge of the food and you believe in your child, you have started the therapy session, then you come in with the therapist.
Then that's when we come in and we show you the way. Then the teachers come in and then the educators and all the things that supposed to be implement for child to be successful would take place. So I'm going to give you the mic, but I want to summarize one more thing. one keeps you up at night because the funny thing with the older they get, the stronger the disability becomes visible and you want to control the diet.
therapist.
Then the next thing you want to do is get therapy, acknowledge it, get therapy, get help. And all of that we come in.
>> Okay. Thank you very much. That was really insightful. So I'll just bring in Bachua Global. She is a mental health advocate. Bachua, when it comes to awareness, how have we fared as a country?
>> Uh thank you very much. Um before I maybe get straight into how have we fed with awareness, I want to give context as to my place here. Um, I'm an advocate from a lived experience perspective and not necessarily as a clinician or anything of the sort. Um, and I've gotten my son's permission. He'll be 13 next month to reference him. Use the word reference. I can reference my son.
So, my son has um ADHD. He's on the spectrum and he also has cough variant asthma. So, we're dealing with multiple things. And I myself also I'm a person with a disability as they call it. I also have um a seizure disorder. So that's why I'm trying not to look too much at the lights because mine is a photosensitive seizure disorder. So I'm trying to face you more. And I also have other conditions. I have an autoimmune condition and other mental illnesses. So I come from the angle of I'm a parent with my own challenges parenting a child with his special needs as well. Now in terms of your question there are maybe four or five areas I really want to touch on and the initial two speakers have touched on a couple of them but with parents I noticed my son's behaviors from when he was five. So his first therapy was five years old. And a lot of parents wait for a long time because they want to avoid labels or categorization or stigma. But a delay does not remove the condition. It simply delays support. So even if you wait 5 years, 10 years, it's not going to change the condition. So the early you notice some of the symptoms as has been said, he can't sit still. He does things a certain way. it is best to go and take him to therapy. So we are probably on our forth um psychiatrist or you know uh clinic that we go to but I think it's very important as parents it is okay don't feel too bad about it don't be too concerned about what people would think your focus should be on the child it's not about society it's not about those who are outside and you need to go and get help but before parents can do that they need to recognize the symptoms that is where awareness really really needs to come from I knew it because I'm an organizational psychologist. I did my first degree in psychology. My dad had a mental illness. So, that sort of thing was something I was very familiar with.
People around me, my family kept saying, "Oh, he's just a boy. It's just normal."
But we need to move beyond those words like it's just normal. That's how boys are. And really go and get an assessment. Go and get the child checked out. and there might be nothing but it is better to get them checked out than not. Then the second awareness gap we have really is with the schools. The schools is a big big lever that is I I think is not being really handled well and I've heard what you said regarding GS. My son was in a GS school and I moved him from GS to a private Cambridge school thinking that because it's Cambridge, it's UK, it would be better for six years. I kept pushing for them to put him on the special needs list so that when it comes to exams, he gets the extra time. He gets the things that suit his condition order to take the exams because academics was really difficult and they did not for six years. I had Dr. Marel from Mission Pediatrics talk to the head mistress and the head mistress said because she has not observed it herself, she wouldn't. But every time I would go for a PTA, the teachers were telling me he can't sit still. He can't focus. They keep put him at the back. It's this, it's that.
>> But the head teacher has still not seen all of that. So she wouldn't believe it.
>> She hasn't seen it for herself.
>> Interesting.
>> And I said, "Your teachers tell me every single year." And then I put her on a conference call with Dr. um Marilyn from Mission Ped uh pediatric pediatric pediatrics as well as Dr. Erica Dixon from 37. she first diagnosed him. Two doctors on a call with this head mistress and she still said unless she has observed it. So you're hearing from the parent, you're hearing from two doctors. I gave her all the reports the doctors had done on my son and she still wouldn't put him on the special list for exams because she felt that oh she's observed him. He's fine. What am I what are we really talking about? And even the doctors were like, "Wow, your the head mistress is quite combative." It took a change in administration who had dealt with ADHD before. And for the first time when he was 12 and writing a critical exam before he was put on the specialist by Cambridge. So with Cambridge, you have to apply and then you send them whatever information you send them, then they put him on for him to get the extra time. So the awareness for schools I think is truly lacking with the GS school that he started at. It was worse. They would not accept it. They would not listen. So I thought taking him to a smaller school, smaller class would be better. But he's now in secondary, year one, year seven.
And we're now getting a bit of support.
The third area which I feel like we also need to work on more when it comes to awareness is family and community. Um, a lot of family members can deter parents from getting help. A lot of family members can be the stilities need to put their parents together on a platform and support them beyond the consultation they go to. So that outside of that I'm the type that I want to be able to text and ask questions. So you need the healthcare facilities to do more of that awareness not just once a year forums but if it's a WhatsApp group I mean that mission pediatrics group they are posting content all the time which is extremely extremely helpful and then the last group that needs to be targeted for awareness is the children themselves. I have been telling my son since he was five what he has we have a very very open conversation at home. It's not something between me and his doctor.
He's aware. Again, the doctors explain to him. I explain to him. We call ourselves the acronym family. Um I have a podcast. He and I filmed an episode that we haven't aired yet, but it was him talking about his ADHD and me talking about my stuff. And I said, "Oh, I'm going for an ADHD forum. Would you like to come?" And he chose to come so that he can also listen and learn. So, we need to have more of the children themselves learning. So it's not just targeting the parents, not just targeting the schools, targeting doctors, but it's also targeting the kids themselves who have been diagnosed.
So helping them form a community of their own and to know that they are special. I interviewed Jiara and she has a way of saying that it's a superpower.
And I remember saying to Jahara during the interview that I want my son to hear you say it's a superpower because he needs to hear from people who have ADHD, who are older, who are thriving. So we need to show Yes. So we need to show the kids the possibilities. We need to help them love themselves. We need to help them accept themselves. So we should not leave the children out of the awareness conversation. I think we target the adults. We target the professionals but we need to target the people who are going through it themselves and hear from them directly. So those would be the four or five areas. I feel like with awareness we need to do more work on on the parents on the schools. Oh my god.
on the healthcare facilities. We need more of the community based whether it's WhatsApp platform and targeting families and support groups. Your circle is your everything as well as targeting the children themselves. That is where I think some direction and some focus and some attention needs to go.
>> Okay. And you know thank you. Thank you very much. But I want to find out what Susanna makes of this because she's in the corporate space. What role do you think that industries can play also in accommodating people diagnosed with various types of mental health illnesses?
>> Okay. Um, thank you for your question.
Hello everyone. So I work with Nature Sprout Academy. It is a neurodyiversity center and it means we have children that have ADHD, that have autism, that have dyslexia, etc. Um I typically you would say our center um because of the services we provide has a certain clientele and most people may not be able to afford the service that we provide here. And so we set up a foundation which is nitp foundation that serves as a vehicle for us to go out into the public do a lot of awareness campaigns. We go to schools, we go to churches, we go to mocks, we go to hospitals. And the key thing for moving from awareness to action is education.
People do not know. Full disclosure, um I am a parent of an autistic child.
In fact, I have two. I have a set of twins and both of them are autistic. All right? And before I came to the knowledge of that I was in corporate and I had to leave corporate spend time with my children on something is missing there's a delay something is not right and the awareness starts from all of us in this room educating ourselves once you want to have a child it is not a guaranteed process you have to learn what are you it's not just about lying down having the sex and bringing a child into the world. What is the process of having that child um healthy? If the child is not healthy, what are the signs of various things that can happen? It's not as if you are preparing for the worst. You're being informed. And my children were my first set of children. So, I didn't know about developmental milestones, which is critical. And many of us have mentioned about that. At age one, what should the child be? If not you, a family member, a friend, a colleague. And let's stop acting as though we are advisers. You don't have the competences to tell somebody or you are not a professional.
Just like during football matches, we say we have uh what 30 32 million coaches in Ghana. We can't play the same role with the lives of children. If you are not a professional, do not give professional advice. You are delaying the support the children will get. So please before you leave here, if your auntie says or may say or your niece says this, don't give professional advice. Tell them to go to the hospital.
And even at the hospitals, if you are a doctor or you're a medical person that is not trained in this field, refer the person to somebody who has the knowledge because not all doctors are specialized or have the knowledge. Not all nurses know. Ideally, there should be a um a basic threshold, I think, in the medical community that they should be informed of, but at least refer the person to somebody who can assist with credible information because what we see in our work is the delay is very detrimental. Between one and five are critical years of the child. If we get children in this space, we are able to do so much with them. We have children that come to our center that do not talk and in less than two years they've developed language in terms of speech and again it's holistic. That is why we are here and we wanted to be part of the mental health forum. It is not you can't attack this one way. It's a holistic take from therapies, yes, but from nutrition, from food, from the gut health, going through gut health protocols, which we do at our center.
And you have to take charge as a parent.
Nobody will do the work for you. No therapist, no teacher, no health professional, no pastor. You have to own the diagnosis. It's difficult. It takes a while to get to accept it. But it's possible through counseling, through your own desire for that child. Accept it and run with it. You have to be your child's biggest advocate. When you're in a room and people are dismissing what you are saying, you put your foot down and say, "No, this is what I know. This is what the report says. This is what I need." And keep at it. Assessments are not cheap.
they are not and that is another problem right so even if you are aware awareness is not just um known information you need to prove what you're saying that's where the assessment comes because then the schools will work with the assessment when you're moving around the head health professional they will work with those assessments so we need to have more people providing assessments more trained pediatricians psychologist ologist, sociologists that can give assessments. We need people to come into this field at the center. We train people to become shadow teachers. We train schools. So if you're a school owner or you your child goes to a school and they don't want to listen to the the issue you're having with your child, you can come to us. The school can come. We can train them. We can train their teachers. We can train the um the administrator so they can spot these things in their class. report escalate and then something can be done.
And again, our language is important.
Let's not encourage the stigma. Don't shine away. Somebody saying that um she's a mom and she cooks and nobody will buy from her and everybody say a but most of you will do that in this room.
>> Most of you will do that. Most of you will call somebody's child Jimmy.
Most of you will do that. It's it's a very Ghanaian attitude.
So, let's not pretend.
It's a community burden. It's a community attitude we need to change. If you see someone going through it and the the other one, oh, you don't discipline your child. Hey, I've heard it several times when a child cannot sit and you're a parent and you're moving through the mall or something, people assume it's lack of discipline.
Don't say things you do not know and understand. Parents cannot walk around with their diagnosis on their chest so that you can be more human. Just be a decent human being from the beginning.
So what we say, how we create the environment for their mental well-being and again if the parent themselves are not in a frame of mind that allows them to give the best they can to their children, what what help can they give?
The parents are not sleeping. They don't have money for rent. They don't have food. They don't know what their future holds. How do they then create the right environment around the child for the child to thrive? So your auntie has a child who is hyper or your sister or a friend in the neighborhood. Any instead of supporting or being there and encouraging, you're downing on them.
You don't want them at family gatherings.
You don't want to buy from them. How do they better their life, support the children? And again, there's no onesizefits all. Autism is a spectrum.
They look different.
See, one can be an alon max and one can be somebody who can't even get out of the room. So, if you've seen an autistic child, you've seen one autistic child, do not cast your um Yes. Do not like don't brand them one way. Oh, those children um they are like this. No, there's variety. Just that we have variety of colors, of shades of skin, of how we speak, they are different. So meet the child at the point that they are and give them the best support. Not just your child, the parents, the comm community, build a community around them so that well-being and mental well-being can come in and as you focus on the child, focus on the caregivers as well. They need it as well. So from awareness to action, let's educate ourselves. Let's be human. Let's be accommodating. Let's watch what we say. Let's create an environment that parents can do the best they can.
government side. I don't even want to start because that's a whole different conversation at our levels. What we can do from here is what I'm trying to focus on cuz with the legislation we try we engage stakeholders meet is is ongoing but you as an individual you have a a part to play and again I'm saying for the last time it is not a day problem and autism affects rich parents. It affects excuse me say people from more humble backgrounds and as as heavy as our mother stories are it doesn't mean that when somebody has money it's easy for them either because they going through the same thing these ones just that maybe there's a little bit of money to cushion but it doesn't take away the burden and the load and the disappointment and the heaviness.
So empathy should not be driven to just one side. Everybody deserves empathy and at where they are what you can support.
If you can support one with money do so.
If you can support one with respect and time do so. What they need at that point.
Thank you very much.
>> Thank you too. Thank you too. Thank you very much. I think one thing I took from you is that we need to learn how to be decent human beings and you know not criticize unnecessarily. Thank you very much uh to you ladies. But open the floor now for about four questions. You have a question. Okay. Uh please you want to add something? Okay. We'll bring you the microphone shortly. But okay, I see your hand there. So if you can kindly walk to the microphone and then ask your question, please.
And uh while we are waiting for the questions to be taken, I need to remind you that we're still taking support for uh our families who have autistic children or autistic grandchildren. You can do that uh by simply dialing star 145 star 3089 H# star 145 star 308 9 hash briefly please.
>> Good afternoon.
Um some of us react to members family members with autism maybe differently. A family member of mine, a sister of mine had a child with what we initially thought was develop developmental problems. Okay. So I immediately went on overdrive and went to um what's that school called again? Um Akuad roundabout. Um anyway there was just next to the British High Commission's residence there was a a school where they said that children with intellectual disability and co can uh can go there.
So I went there I became within a very short space of time the director of that uh um school and um yeah we we brought that child there and they said no no no that child doesn't fit into this place.
Okay. So I lost interest. Okay. Then um we took the child to another school somewhere in um East Leon. Okay. It was terrible. Children had all kinds of funny things and all that. Even the child got more uh um depressed. So what I want to So we had to take him to Europe. Okay. and all the things you said, okay, that they as in into a boarding school that we prepared, they assessed him, okay, they now gave him more time to sit into the uh to sit the exams and they supported him. Even when he was doing his O levels, they supported him. When he was doing his A levels, they supported him. He was accepted into a university, okay? when there was no hope for him. Everybody said there was not no hope for him. In fact, if not for um Mrs. Auno at rich a Roman rich school who just adopted him.
Okay. Um he wouldn't have even been accepted into any school in Ghana here.
He uh did his O level with all the things that you said. I'm happy they have these things in Ghana now. And then he did his A levels. He went to university. After the first year we uh they wrote to my sister and said that he was the most improved uh student. Okay.
So miracles do happen. Okay. So he was the most improved student. In the second third year he uh traveled out. he became part of um a group of students who go and and talk about international affairs and blah blah blah and blah blah blah.
And the child is a brilliant child. He works with me. Okay. And under normal circumstances as a strong Christian, I would have said, "Praise the Lord."
Okay? Because that is what I believe in.
Okay? I believe it was a miracle from God. Okay? So I believe for all of us sitting here, I don't know who is Muslim, I don't know who is Christian, but miracles do happen.
>> Okay.
>> Also pray.
>> Okay.
>> Islamic prayer, Muslim prayer, pray.
Thank you.
>> Okay. Why don't you go to the hospital as well?
>> That goes without saying. That's why I said we went through the whole uh um New Horizon. That was the place. We started at New Horizon uh uh hospital. I mean um school I myself went there I became a director and a supporter of that uh uh school just for the uh child's sake so school hospital and all that is important but also in all that prayer >> is very very important.
>> All right thank you very much. Let's take our very first question from our gentleman.
>> Good afternoon. So mine is not actually a question. Please uh turn the microphone on and >> I think it's on. Good afternoon. Mine is actually not a question just a little contribution to the conversation.
>> You want to give a contribution?
>> Yes.
>> Okay.
>> I'm Dr. Mohamad.
I'm a recently graduated medical doctor outside >> we we are struggling to hear you. So I think that we need to take a pause and then fix the microphone otherwise you can use the one here. So that Okay.
>> So I said I am Dr. Muhammad Gazafra.
>> You're a doctor. is I was trained outside in Cuba from 2019 to 2025. We came recently. So the thing is I think it has to do with um acceptance like it's already been said and um knowledge and intentionality because it is a whole thing all together. It's not about the person suffering the condition. It has to do with the community as a whole. If you go to Cuba, they operate a community based medical delivery system.
>> Please get closer to the mic so that we can hear you.
>> And so I think that we need to educate people a lot more. If you look at the data is really really bad because there's about 98% gap in terms of mental health um delivery system. There's about 13% of people who are suffering from very special conditions and less than 3% receive formal care. And so there's a lot of a lot of things we have to do.
There's a big gap and I'm very happy. I saw Miss Jaras speak on connected minds and I searched her on Instagram. I realized she was running this and I decided to come because it's something that I really want to go into something like psychology and more into mental health because I believe that there should be intentional incentives and programs to encourage even more doctors.
Everyone wants to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. But what about those who are suffering from mental health illnesses?
Are we going to leave that and go to places where we only care about the money? Because health is, you know, they say when life gives you lemon, you make lemonets. But how do you make the lemons? You need knowledge to do that.
Thank you very much.
>> Thank you to uh doctor. Okay. So I'll take the first question from you. We've had two contributions so far. I'll take a question from her then I come to you.
Right.
>> All right. Okay. So, please I want to ask you see um those in school those in GES and any other schools they can request for the IEPs through the school line and any other structures they can go through that. But what of those on the spectrum that they can't be in school? Some of them their parents have even stopped working just to stay with them at home. How do they assess this um improvement strategy? so that with time they can improve.
>> All right. Thank you very much. Take the second question and then we get an answer.
>> Um okay, good afternoon. So the question might be a little bit all over the place but um throughout all the presentations you mainly emphasized on children. Now my question is on adults and then late diagnosis those who have had to um copy their peers because they really want to stand out or they didn't want to be stigmatized like some children are there they realize that they are not like others but then they try to mask it looking for that word they try to mask it and then they grow up their symptoms and everything becomes worse and they have to go for diagnosis or testing something. So, how would you help those kind of adults who are late in diagnosing?
>> Okay, thank you. I think we just get answers to these two questions. I want to give you one of that, Ida. She talks about the fact that those who are on the spectrum that cannot go to school at all, how do we get them formally educated?
I always say that education actually starts from home.
My mom homeschooled me.
I I think I started off when I went to school.
I got promoted. Let me put it in that sense. So the early years till date, it's quite recently that I have gotten accustomed to knowing which one or what are the divisions when it comes to our early years.
Education always starts from the home.
Our kids who are on the spectrum and they are currently home, there are a lot of things that we can all do to support them. Remember our other speakers mentioned that they can be supported.
It's a community thing.
How well do you help the child learn things around them? Even in terms of colors, even for those who go to school, one thing that I always tell our educators whenever we have training programs for them is that don't let schooling be rigid because kids would not learn in that way. Everyone likes to have fun and a child can play from morning till night and would not be tired. Am I right?
>> So why don't we change the way we tutor them?
Why don't we teach colors by making them do the roundabouts and things that they do? And for someone who is either on the spectrum or not, the child can still do that activity whether in school or at home. What if we are teaching them sounds? What teach what if we are teaching them um the the alphabet letters? We're teaching them something related to um any school work, anything, identification, being able to blend, being able to to decode, whichever thing we're teaching them, make sure it is something that is practical, something that they feel they can work around, they can play around.
And yes, for a child who is on the spectrum, please bear in mind that whatever you are doing, they may not respond to you at that particular moment.
If a is not schooling. They may do their things in another way. And you also remember what Susanna said, you may have seen someone who is on the spectrum. It doesn't necessarily mean that whatever thing this person is applying would apply to that person, but we try different things. Use the things that are around the child to teach that individual. Help the child understand things using the things they see. If someone comes to you, let's say you've never been outside Ghana before, you've never seen snow and someone is explaining snow and telling you snow does this, this this this, would you understand it? But if the person comes and tells you that, oh, do you know how the rain fell? Would you understand that? Exactly. So, let's use things that we tend to see around us. Be it the child is on the spectrum or not, be it the child is neurody divergent or not, in whichever area you find yourself, please make sure We always use the things that are around us.
>> That's fine. Uh in 30 seconds.
>> Yes. Two quick things I want to say about educating the children. First, um just to add on to what she said, I think as parents, you must almost become like an educator. You must learn what you need to learn in order to help the child. You cannot delegate when you have a special needs child, you cannot delegate the entire development of the child to either a doctor or to a teacher or to someone else. you must almost learn everything. You must almost become like you are a doctor, you were a teacher, you whatever it may be, I stayed home for two or three years because of my son. And so even though he was in a formal school, I was also teaching him. I tried to get other tutors to also help. So I was learning in order to help him. That's number one.
So as parents, we are the first teachers and that's not said casually. It means you must learn. The second point I also wanted to make when it comes to education is broaden your mind beyond formal education. We fixate a lot on formal education in Ghana. Everything is about paper and certificates. My son can knit a pillow. He can draw. He plays football. He does so many things. And I've decided to nurture all of those things because the academics is one but they may not be the only path for his future. So as parents and as Ghanaian parents where we keep seeking the doctors, the accountants that whatever may be, we need to try and be very flexible when it comes to our kids and what their future may look like. And my son is I would say probably one of the most talented kids ever.
>> Okay.
>> And you have to nurture that talent.
>> Okay. Stella, I think I'll just let you take the second question. The lady talks about refusing acceptance. So you know you have a condition, you know you're you're a bit different from your peers, but because you do not want to deal with it, you pretentiously put on a mask so you can belong. How do such people get themselves out of the wood?
>> Okay. Um I'm going to answer that question. I want to touch on the first question. Um I believe there's a bigger platform and we have to hold the government accountable a little bit right now. Okay. Not every parent have the wisdom to know how to teach their child. They already having a hard time even identify what is autism. I think the government needs to put teachers at home. If a child cannot be in school, if you're collecting taxes, then you must provide, right? And somebody might say that's your foreign mind thinking. Well, that's my foreign mind speaking it out loud. The government needs to give parents who cannot work money.
my firm mind thinking again, right? But we putting it out there because there are other countries that are doing it and Ghana is big on copying other countries. So, let's copy the right way.
Okay? Let's get our children's educated.
If they cannot be educated in a classroom, let them be educated in the school. You want to empower a parent, bring a teacher to teach the parent how to educate their child because they don't have the knowledge. So to put all of that in a parent, I think is very sad. So the government needs to step in and help parents and help their citizens. Hopefully they hurt us. And then the second thing I want to address that um young lady's question. You see there are levels of autism, right? The higher functioning child is a child that's able to mask. And the higher functional child is the one that's able to realize that there's something going on with me, right? They they are older now. So they're selfaware now of what's going on. So if you are if you're older and you never got diagnosed, you need to get diagnosed. In Ghana, that paper not may not mean a lot, but in America means a lot. Get that paperwork that says that you are on some type of spectrum. So that's the first thing you do. Secondly, you acknowledge it. Then you seek for resources and you seek for help and you have to talk to yourself. If you're going somewhere that's go it's going to overwhelm you, you need to prepare yourself. If this crowd is going to overwhelm you, do not go. If you could stay for five minutes, you stay for five minutes and that's it.
When you have that paperwork and you are employed, you see the good thing now is that technology makes us understand autism. They might not know what it is.
Your boss, but she or he have heard it before. Have that paperwork. Be honest with them. Be transparent. this job I'm gonna do the best that I can. And I think you asked a question and it kind of skipped through my mind. AIDS DA and autism kids, the one that I hire functional are the one of the best employees that you can hire because if that autistic kid is working, they're working 100%.
They're giving you the utmost res response results. They don't, you know, when a person is not talking, they're thinking. All other senses is working.
So when you become an older person, you are the best employee in your office because you are fixiated on that problem and you do not stop until it's fixed. So you got to own up to who your strengths are and you have to let your boss know and then you have to let them know that I may need a mental break just like my sister talked about giving sensory breaks to our children in the classroom.
So I hope I answer.
>> All right. Thank you very much, Stella.
We'll take the last two questions and then we move on to the next panel. Okay, the lady there. Okay, you know what? Um, let me do favoritism here. Deca wants to ask a question.
>> I actually um Oh, thank you all so much for having me here. Um, Jiara, I think you're doing an amazing job and I'm so glad you're I came today because I wasn't coming because I had so much to do today. But I thought this is a topic that means a lot to me because I had a brother with ADHD and growing up I had no idea what it was cuz all I knew was that boy was hyper. He was knocking everything down, jumping, rolling over the staircase and doing so much until I grew up and I realized that >> he was busy.
>> He was He was very busy. He was very busy.
>> He was always busy. He was always busy.
He couldn't sit still. And I just thought, what is this? And so I grew up and I realized that this is a mental disorder. Honestly, I didn't even think it was sitting here today. I have learned so much. I'm telling you, the panelist here and before, especially now cuz I'm learning so much. But it's just one thing I wanted to ask cuz I just thought some of the parents that came up here spoke about so many things. One of the things that touched me was the fact that I mean, how are you going to feed your child with no job?
And really if you think about it, this is also under health. And so when you just now when you said that we stereotype them because we don't want to buy food from them, I just thought truly speaking to be frank if I go to a space where there's feces on the floor, I'm not going to buy the food. Is there a way?
Is there a parent support system that allows some of our specialists to educate these mothers to help them to know how to, for example, keep their environments tidy with a child like that? Is there a way?
Because let's be frank, if we're going to be re like realistic here, I'm just being realistic. I'm not going into the emotional part of it because I've been emotional. I cry through I cry throughout their talks. But we need to help the parents. Is there a support system? Is there a way that we gather parents in a room where we educate them on how to keep their children tidy when they're going through when they obviously have these conditions, how to change them? If you are or have a you're a food vendor, when you're cooking, what do you do with them? I I understand that it's all about money and I know that honestly if these parents do not have a job to do the government, what you're saying here is what I it should be ideally, but realistically that's not what it is. It is going to take us a while to get there and I do hope we get there where parents are given a certain amount of support like in the UK and all parts of the world but it's going to take us a while. In the meantime, how do we support these parents? Do we have a vocational um tum tution where we teach them how to cook food, how to make beads, how to sew clothes? How are they going to support their children? We need to think about that. And also I'm talking about the support system because you know what we're talking about all these children with ADHD and autism and we're talking about mental health parents who take care of these children if you're not careful is borderline depression. And that is why I believe that these parents themselves need to have a support system that speaks to them on a regular basis. a platform where they are spoken to constantly encourage them, educate them, support them because if not how are they going to support their young ones when they themselves are going through because trust me parents will suffer a lot and that is something that we shove all the time. So is there a system that supports or promotes parents helps them in these various areas that I've mentioned?
>> Okay, thank you very much for your question. Before we answer that, let's take the final one from her.
Good afternoon and thank you very much for this opportunity. I think I don't know our spirit is one auntie Becca the when we're talking about we're talking about the support system we have a son diagnosed spinal be that is milo maning cell and surgery was done 2014 and he's in a wheelchair well-dressed he can't talk but down from chest to the legs he can't feel anything we tried our best to take him to school we have to get him daily support a caregiver to take him to school change the diaper for us to be able to go to work so as I sitting down my husband it has not been easy. He goes to work and think about his son. How can he survive when we are not there? So as I was sitting I was thinking about the support system in Africa and in Ghana.
What can we do as parents that our children will have a full of life. So as a nurse and a mom I gather parents in central region even have children with home and even empower mothers in my little way. So as I sat down I was thinking about the support system how can we support ourel so that that meant because it's not easy to go and come home meet those children sleep with them wake up when you get up and maybe you die what happens to our children so support system matters and even them going to school we have special educators but when the children are in school they are left alone break time club time these children are left alone and a whole lot of things goes on so when auntie Becca said is very important and we in central region we have about 50 to 100 mothers and fathers single parents who are ready to learn something learn a trade and also do something so that even with soap making or other things that they can sell and maybe work like money trading will be going on for such parents because if you're even taking care of a store and you don't go to work one week one month how can you care for a child so with a support system we need it and especially parents in central region My boy is fin. He's well dressed. He can sing. But what goes on a day caring for him. It takes only God and faith in God.
So I'm grateful for this forum. Please, we need a support system and some of us we are ready to be assistant and we are ready to work with my parents and single mothers in central region. Thank you very much.
>> In fact, I was actually coming to you because you are also a parent with that uh experience.
>> I'll I'll make it quick. Both of them are basically asking for support for parents >> and as a parent I I I also need support.
So I kind of have an idea of what I think would help. Um the first thing is we have financial cooperatives, right?
We could also have caregiver cooperatives. We could have caregiver community groups and this I think should be handled by the government or the hospitals because the parents go to those institutions. They have the data.
They have the records. You can organize groups where they meet whether it's once a month whatever it may be and have a conversation with them on multiple levels financial management business management entrepreneurship and also uh mental health uh talks how are they fairing how are they doing so not just focusing on the kids but asking the parents how are you doing what help do you need so a cooperative or a community and I would even akin it to something like maybe you know in the US they would have you know alcoholics anonymous or narcotics anonymous but those types of groups where as a parent I can sign up and go to a place on a particular basis it is anonymous it is confidential it is managed in a very good way and I can share openly I can literally just sit there and say you know what my son is driving me crazy and I'm not judged in that space and that's a space where I can learn how to have a side business or how to handle my job how to do this and that so we need that the Second help that I think parents really need is our health system and our insurance system does not support mental health for the since my son got diagnosed and we've been buying medication. Insurance companies do not cover mental health or mental illness medications. I do not know why. This is something I feel like the government needs to intervene. I mean my last time we tried to buy medicine I was with my mother and it was about 2,000 cities a month and I'm like okay that's not going to work. What can we do? Because insurance will not cover.
I used to be on insurance and I stopped because I have mental illness. My son has his issues and insurance is not covering any of that. Not consultation, not assessment, not medication. So insurance companies and hospitals need or government needs to do something about that so that the financial help can be um received. So those are the two quick things I'll say is that communitybased support is needed for us to talk and sometimes vent and you want to do it in a safe space and you also want to learn from others that should be done and then financial help especially through insurance. Okay, Susanna, briefly, >> let me start answering that question by saying that let's not um forget that there are wonderful people in the space doing wonderful things already like what Madame Celia is doing like what Rob Foundation is doing like there are other I don't know your organization but what you're doing and majority of the time don't call me biased but it's the stats The women are the ones championing these initiatives and they are getting results done because they understand what it takes.
You know when women take charge of something not all women but majority of the times they get a job done. So what we have to do is as um an individual as a corporate institution identify these groups structure what they are doing if they are foundation look into their books give them training then you can give them funding then you can go and check what they're doing the funding teach them how to trickle it down educate them then you have systems outside of government system is one it is great but community and people who take ownership of such movement will get us more results. Come to our foundation, come to their foundation, look at our books, tell us this is what we want to achieve within two years. Are you registered?
How can we help? If you're not registered, how can we get you registered? Um, are you compliant? I'm giving you 10,000 CDs in the next six months. This is what I need to do with this program. follow up, see it and then we get the results. That is how I think from the grassroot level we can start seeing change because they are doing it already. We doing it we just need support come on board with us and let's get it done.
>> Okay. You know what? Because that's what we have spoken. I want Ida to speak then I give it to you last. Right. I no this is your microphone.
>> Okay. So then there was the other part of the question that has to do with the mental health. How do you support the parents?
earlier she mentioned Watua mentioned things that we tend to do and yes we are here in Ara there are several other things that we can do to support others in terms of mental health for instance I know that well for for my place we have this monthly webinars that we hold for free and it is for everyone so there are the parents who sometimes we even host.
They tend to share their experiences. We have the professionals also in there. So at least for two hours you can ask all your questions. You can share you can get that free consult with people. These are some of the things that we all do.
But the thing is there are pockets of it being done in different different places. So you need to find out who has what information and how good is the information because there are several things going out out there but we need to identify a whole lot of information can also sometimes be overwhelming for you as an individual. So please take your time find which institution can better suit your needs where can I get the support that I need and there are other videos and things that are on YouTube that you can also look at. Take a look at them. Listen to them. Pick your points from it because these things are what would help you as an individual to also calm yourself because you may be thinking about the child, the child, your child. But if you are also not sound, how do you assist the child? So we plead with parents, please let's seek for the right information. Let's make sure that we get the needed help that we can get and help ourselves. Thank you.
>> Thank you. I think I want Stella to have the final bite on the back of this because you were almost putting fire on the government.
I think um what everybody said was very powerful. But I want to say one thing.
Rome was not built in a day. And even sky rain being Ghana I heard for so many years autism was not even talked about.
HD was not even talked about. Right. It is now that we are having the conversation.
It is now the awareness is coming. So all the things that are worrying us as teachers, as parents, as a community, as as a nation, we should not skip the government. We should get them involved, right? Because coming to Ghana, I realized that is a law that cannot that schools I'm standing to be corrected. Schools cannot turn away a child. It's in the law. But children on the spectrum are being turned away all the time.
>> And and and so it sounds good that each individual and a group is working together for the good, but we have to involve the government. Whether we feel like they not doing their part, whether we feel like they're not coming through or not, the the more we speak, the more something will be done just like we are doing now. and and and then the problem is bigger than all of us and and and so we need to involve the government. If they do nothing, they set laws in place and you know that law, you could you could stand against a principle that says you you cannot turn away my child because she or he's on a is is on a spectrum. It's because the law was passed. Had that law not been passed even though the law is passed, a lot of children not being turned away. So I completely understand the mother that's talking about how is not able to uh pay all the bills, right? It's hard. The government needs to be involved and it's it's a harder pill for all of us to swallow because it will be exposed to.
But let's start that conversation. Let let us our leaders be aware of it and then gradually we will get there.
>> Thank you very much. And thank you very much ladies. Uh these have been the ladies for this panel. I've been talking to Stella Mako. She's a developmental intervention specialist and the chief executive officer of the Skyne therapy also Ida Alote Brown. She's a special educator uh ADHD and autism and uh Buoa Glover. She is a mental health advocate.
And finally, Susanna Simpson. She's a marketing lead and HR that's employee relations at Nature's Sprout Academy.
Let's appreciate them as they take their seats. Thank you very and I also need to remind you that we are still very big on getting the needed support for uh some of our identified mental health victims. And so you can simply help by donating via the short code star 41 star 309 hash. Now before I bring the next guest of uh speakers on stage, I want us to do a very simple exercise. So can we please take our phones? In fact, show me your phones. Can we wave our phones? Great.
You can go on Instagram and Tik Tok now and follow the mental health forum GH.
We are very active on social media. So, please follow us on social media. That's uh Tik Tok and Instagram for at the Mental Health Forum GH. And also don't forget that at the back there, if you want to make a donation in cash, you can simply do that at the back there. And there will also be an available Momo number for those of you that are not able to use the short code to make that donation. Thank you very much. It is now time to bring in our very final panel for the conversation. We've been talking about how to practicalize all the lessons that we've gotten from uh this forum so far. So I'll invite the next set of guests so that we can quickly delve into the very final laps of this program. And so we'll be discussing building inclusive mental health systems, the roles of institutions, health care and community support in Ghana. And to help me do that, we'd have to invite on stage Ailia Awin Bulma Azurich. She's a clinical psychologist.
Please join me on stage now.
And Grant Abbeaden. He's the head of programs autism awareness care and training center. Is Grant here? Can you please join us on stage now?
Okay, Grant has uh stepped out. I believe that he joined us subsequently, but Oila, it's good to see you. I believe that you've been paying attention to the conversations we've had so far. What's your take on how we treat mental health in this country from a clinical psychologist perspective?
>> Okay. Thank you very much for your question and I would like to first of all um state that we haven't discussed really the causes of autism right so the causes of autism number one and most important is genetics so if you find that a parent a sibling or a close relative has autism there's a pattern that um someone else or your child could have autism. Number two is toxics like um being exposed to lead poisons when you are pregnant, pregnancy complications, delayed labor, certain foods you eat when you are pregnant, um alcohol, >> you know, because she said it's toxic, then I'm drawn to those that are exposed to mercury at the galamce site. They also at the risk of experiencing this also especially for their children.
>> Yes. Or even the electric mask, MTN, telecommunications mask, you know, all those ones. Radioactive stuff, right?
And then smoking and and drinking or doing drugs when you are pregnant can also lead to the child um becoming autistic. Um lastly they are also um you know some environmental or physical like going through excessive stress when you are pregnant and when I say stress I mean emotional stress or distresses when you are pregnant can lead one to um giving birth with a child having those complications. So back to your question right um systems Did you mention systems?
>> Systems. Yes.
>> That promotes the awareness.
>> No, I was asking about how difficult it is to you know talk about these mental health uh conditions. Really?
>> Okay. It's difficult because it's it's a bit foreign, right? I say foreign because Ghanaian culture has um has transformed.
I would say early 20 years ago, children diagnosed with autism or living with autism were seen foreign and that is what has been passed down even to my age mates. Now, the education is such that if you don't have a child living with autism, you may never get to know about it. And I'm here to say that it shouldn't have to be you before you start learning about what neuro developmental um challenges are. If you are a woman, if you're a man with an intention to marry and give birth, these are some of the um the investment you have to do for yourself. I would also like to mention that in our Ghanaian system, we scare number one because of finances.
If you have a child that comes with a burden like this, you know, you have to spend extra and our living conditions do not allow us to to leave and to spend or to even spare for something like this.
And then the fact that it's a mental health um challenge.
Again, the stigma about mental health is still thriving. Like a lot of people don't want to be associated anything that has to do with mental health and again I would like to say mental health is about how you think how you feel and how you behave if you have a brain then you have mental health but when it is in a spectrum whether it's on the extreme end and you are not balanced that is where it's a mental health disorder so I have it you have it all of us sitting here we have it because we have brains that functions daily >> automatically we have mental health.
>> Yes.
>> But it becomes a problem when it's on the spectrum.
>> When it's on the spectrum or it's on the extreme end. So what we try for is to live a balanced life daily to be balanced. So when you're going through stress you make sure that at the end of the day you destress so it doesn't compile. When it compiles then you get a mental health illnesses. Right? So when you're going through depression, it's more like low moods. And then when you don't visit a psychologist to help with your low moods, then it compiles. And like a balloon, when you overinflate a balloon, it bust. So that's how the symptoms now becomes very visible where you can't hide it, where you can't mask it and everyone gets to see that you're going through some mental health challenge.
>> Okay. But is attending to the or visiting the clinical psychologist the only way to distress because most of us here we're working so hard you're dealing with corporate issues family issues personal issues majority of us are stressed >> do you have to come to the clinicals or do I have to come to you to help me with my low mood or there are other realistic and practical alternatives that we can use >> okay so I said this because we want to fight ignor ignorance, right? The Bible says um lack of knowledge make my people perish. So when I come from a stance of ignorance, you may not have um you may not know how to deal with it if you are not being taught how to. I know there's um social media trends that can show you how to distress, but it's not from a a clinician point of view. And so there are a lot CBT, mindfulness, yoga, meditation, and all of those things and everyday coping activities you can do to distress. But the thing is, it's all about the assessment. How do you know you are facing a mental health disorder if you're not assessed, if you are not diagnosed? I know um there are a lot of jagons. People who don't even have ADHD will go like, "Oh, I think I have HD AD or maybe I think I'm on the spectrum."
um to be associated with it for some benefits or for some behavioral flaws, right? An example of an adult ADHD is if you're always showing up late like you can say, "Oh, I think I have my ADHD is just showing up. That's why I came up late." So things like that difficult is I mean the word they use as tardy. When somebody is tardy, the person can say that I have an HDHD.
>> Yes. Yes. Yes. And there are so many like behavioral flares that people may use. An example is like okay an antisocial behavior or um a very familiar word is introverts right but the extreme end is antisocial behavior.
They don't like people. Oh I just they just see you and they don't like you right and they they try to go like oh I'm just antisocial. I don't like people. Right? So mental health has become more like a jagon and that is what we are trying to fight against that it it people um millennials or jenzes should not travialize mental health.
It's a serious thing and the more we trivialize it, the more it's difficult for the people really going through it to seek help, right? And so for mothers who are going through this, first of all, like we spoke about um family support and family therapy and psycho education. We need to teach them how do they deal with children going through this? what are the burnout um strategies they can use so that they themselves do not become overburdened with what they are going through and I'd like to say that for women going through this is about the energy they give inside of them now I met a Russian mother who had a child with autism in the moment she moved to Ghana the transition period and settling in was very difficult called for her and she had brought her son for assessment. The assessment was done and indeed the child was on the spectrum.
Now the difficult thing that happened for this mother was the fact that within herself there was the difficulty of accepting and I'd like to say that the longer it takes for you to accept your child diagnosis the harder it is for your child to get the so um the support that is needed.
>> Okay.
>> So your child suffers more. They go through all the behavioral and emotional distresses and they find it very difficult to understand and accept themselves. So what the mother had to do was first of all to pour love in herself. She said I stopped looking at my son from a pitiful eye. Like you don't have to look at your son and it is there's difference between pity, empathy, apathy and then um and then love right so you look at your child with love and love comes with caring it comes with a responsibility and even when you are not capable it helps you but when you look at someone with pity like we all do when we see them in public we don't look at them with curiosity we look at them in disgust past and children feel our energy. They receive the energy. And so when she said when she started pouring love in herself, she was able to pour love into her son and her son received the energy and was able to connect with her.
There's a difference when a mother is able to connect with their child because there is a parental intuition from above that teaches you how to navigate these challenges out of love. But when it is out of pity, it comes with um tiredness, with a burden. It comes with um self-lame. It comes with excuses, right?
And sometimes you feel that you shouldn't even be the one to be responsible for such a child. But when she looked through love and she received her son and her son received that love, they began to connect. And parenting was easy because such children are very difficult with rules and regulations.
They don't listen. They are always focused on something you don't want them to do. But when the child connected, the child was able to listen. The child was able to connect and feel the pain and energy from her mother. And this transpired in the child's social life because the child was able to see other kids that mimicked a safe behavior that mimic a welcoming behavior and also exchanged the same behavior from the child perspective. Their academics improved their eating skills. Very petty things around the child that was very difficult for the child to exhibit now became easy. So I would say mother should first of all see it from a place of love not as a burden and this will also transform how the child sees the world cuz you are a representation for the child. You are the picture that the child uses and if every day you look at your child in pity in disgust you'll be tired.
>> I have a very last question for you but I'll just allow people to get in here and ask questions so that you can they can get answers. Please come.
My name is Elm. Um, and I'm happy you came up here and spoke about the causes because I didn't hear so much about um these causes because I feel like um once we're able to tackle from the foundations and the grassroots, a lot of these problems will be um um nullified to some extent. I have two questions. Um I I'm back in university. Okay. The first time I went there, I couldn't sit in class. I was all over the place. Um I start one project, I leave the rest. And a good friend of mine said, "You should get checked. I think you have ADHD."
And it was funny cuz um even till today I still see traces of um attention deficit, hyperactivity and you know the label or the labeling or then going for a diagnosis to say yes you have ADHD um is not scary but for me I'd rather like to live with the fact that um I need to calm myself down. I need to be patient when I'm talking. I need to um set a to-do list. I need to tackle one task before the other and so on and so forth. Now my question is um again I have a friend in class who says he takes these pills that calm him down. He has ADHD. He went for a diagnosis being a clinical psychologist. Can you say can you say that um as opposed to getting a diagnosis and taking a drug if you think you have some of these symptoms um adult ADHD can you then um control them? Um, can can you then use certain tactics to try to tame down or control your supposed self diagnosed ADHD? Or do you definitely have to take these um tablets or or or medicines or um these sort of interventions? That's number one question. And um number two is where are the men? Where are the men in this discussion um of mental health and being mental healthy? Where are the men? Um like I applaud the gentleman who has a son who is taking care of his son, you know, but where are the men? It's as if the women are more concerned about um mental health than even if you look in the auditorium, there's more women than men. And so being a clinical uh psychologist, is is it still the same? Do men shy away from these type of topics and and why so? Uh yeah, my two questions.
>> Okay, thank you. So I'll take it from your second question. Right. Recently there's been one powerful economic conference at Benjing and in all over the world only men represented not even one woman. So you see men have different interest.
It's all about the money, politics, power, control, but um very important things that boils down to human life.
Men seem to shy away. Even with parenting, how many men take it as a responsibility to learn about their child, to self-care, and spend time with their children. Now there's differences between self-care, child care, and spending time with your child. A professionally employed father would rather seek for money than to spend child with the than to spend time with the child. And even if they do spend time with the child, they are not teaching the child basic connection activities that they can born with the child. They are either working and say, "Hey, look at the child. He's out there playing." How many fathers teach their children how to ride bicycles?
How many teach How many fathers teach their children how to fry eggs? But these are the bonding activities fathers need to be more intentional about cuz their children don't know them. They don't they go to work, come back late. The child may only see them during the weekends. So, I'm glad as a man you have brought this up. It shows your mind. And I like when people talk because talking expose who you are. You you can't lie. Talking is your your your sense of being. It's who you are. And I like that you have this beautiful mind and that you can educate and groom other men to be more focused on homely duties and important topics like this. And your second question with drugs, right, or medications. And then therapy, it may go together. We may not include medication in your in your therapy interventions.
But I would like to say that recently there's been a high rise of um drug addicts in Ghana where there are so many advocacies and even the the um CI um the police investigative units and the crime or is it um what's the name? Substance abuse unit in the police department is yes narcotics thank you very much are really on these kind of cases so mental health medications are highly supervised right even for me I can't even prescribe a medication without a report and assessment and diagnosis it would be against my ethics and then code of conduct I can't do that so to say that uh because your friend takes medication if it's Okay, that is if it is from a clinical psychologist or a psychiatrist.
That is because it is supervised cuz there are so many medications out there that helps people um like stimulants.
All right. Uh mushrooms um stimulants, you know, there are some medications from mushrooms that people abuse, right? You can take it if you illegally come ac across it but it has to be prescribed and penicellin tramodol all these medications were supposed to be supervised but it is out there in the market. How did it happen? And one thing about ADHD medication is that it helps you to calm down. It helps you to like to be focused. I'm I'm saying if you have a project and you take these medications, you see clearly. You're like a fortune teller. You can you can do the best of it but do you really need it or you or you are just abusing it?
It's more like a superpower. So we are looking at it from a place that you need to go for the diagnosis. You need to go to be tested. The question I have to this is do you shy away from diagnosis?
Because that is a typical Ghanaian attitude. A lot of people don't like the diagnosis. They just want the end result of it. like let's say go to the hospital go check for HIV they will never go but they'll be ready to receive prophylaxis why is the case it's the stigma it's just the stigma behind it and there's nothing wrong with going for assessment and test so it is wrong to take medications without prescription please have I answered your questions >> okay >> we have more questions all right >> so um you are listed some risk factors um that can put a child to getting autism.
>> Yes.
>> Right now we are in a world of technology where most of our parents do not have time for their babies. What they do is probably they are working they have a meeting on Zoom and they just give a phone to the baby to watch Coco Melon and other shows. I want to ask that is there any evidence where exposing these kids to these media um shows um put a risk put a child at risk of autism? You mean exposure to screen time? Yes. Okay.
>> Yes. So, thank you very much for bringing this up. We call it compulsive screen use, right? And I I I'm very happy you've brought this up because there's been an increased risk that children who spend more time on screen um get like the increased behavioral versions of ADHD. For me, I'm very happy I wasn't brought up with TV because of my religious, you know, background. I'm from a typical Deeper Life church. So, those of you who knows Deeper Life, I didn't grow up with TV. So, I grew up using my time for myself. I know how not to get bored, right? I know how to use my time for something. But for children like this where um social media and screen time has been factored into parenting right has is very difficult for them to use their time for themselves. They cannot see themselves beyond screen time. They cannot interact socially like to express themselves without really screen time um programming or conditioning. And you can tell that they are also very smart, right? They are also very eyeopening.
that the parenting has been from a programming state like social media, other forms of um you know screen time use. So you find that there's an increased energy, aggressiveness, anger, they use bad words like they they they interact with strangers online and they copy behaviors. So before you realize a child 10 years ago or 20 years ago could be clinically diagnosed based on the child's individuality or personality, right? But because of screen time, when you are diagnosing a child with ADHD, you are also asking yourself reflective questions whether it is from a screen time or this is really a child naturally having ADHD.
Do you get where I'm coming from? So the screen time plays a critical role in AD um HD children. Um sugar levels right an increased risk with sugar levels as well and the fact that a lot of mothers um follow like various trends on how to feed their baby to look cool to be a cool parent. They don't really research what their children do. They buy them all the devices that they need rather than bonding with the child. And I understand because emotional bonding is a level of energy. If you don't have, you can't give it. You just cannot. Even if you are a parent, it needs to be nurtured. It needs to be modeled into giving. If you don't have, you can't give it. So the easiest way is to use the screen time. Just throw it to them and then do something else that you want. And um there's been research that shows that um um what do they call it?
Feeding mothers has interrupted their child's um feeding because of their own screen time. So these days it's easier for you to see a mother feeding the child with the phone in the hand to distress. When this happen repeatedly, it's a parting for the child. So the child knows that if I want to feed then I have the option of also looking through the phone and a child from zero to two years exposed to screen time is going to have neurodedevelopmental um challenges in in his or her brain because the brain is yet developing. So from zero to two years should not have anything to do with screen time not even a minute because there are synapses forming in the child's brain that causes memory. Okay. So that is why childhood that whatever the child sees at that point forms memory forms experiences forms personality traits that the child shouldn't have learned. So a child growing up um with continuous screen time becomes a parting for the child that now creates addiction and the same screen time addiction is the same chemical imbalances and processes that causes drug addiction. So any form of addiction is the same chemical processes in the brain whether pornography, gambling, drugs, anything at all. So a child from 0 to 2 years being exposed is going to develop that addiction. It means that when the child grows from from 2 to 5 years would already be used to the screen time and you can't you can't model that behavior. We we have a local proverb that says that when a broom is wet you can burn it or is that not right? When a stick is wet you can burn it but when it is dried it will break. That is a typical example of child modeling. So, thank you so much. And I'm here to say that from 0 to two years, do not expose. You shouldn't even have TV. Why do you have TV? Sorry, not because I'm a deeper lifer, but why do you have TV? For what?
Because these children with AD, they can break stuff. They break them. Some people, they hang their TV on the walls till their child becomes a like a puberty or a teenager. So why do you have it? Right? You can do away with TVs and screen times and all of that until you are aware that you have traditionally nurtured your child to understand good, right, wrong. Their conscience is formed from the values from of your home. And when your child is able to choose from right or wrong, then you are free as a parent. But if your child cannot because I know every parent wants that when you leave the world your child can be able to exist without you.
>> So if you're asking yourself what kind of adult am I modeling this child? If you're a reflective parent and you are honest you can tell that your child in your house you don't need TV in your house. You don't need these foreign material materials that would change the understanding and the personality and values or morality in your home. So you do away with these things. They don't need them.
>> Okay.
>> But sorry I'm talking too much.
>> Thank you. Thank you. I'll just open the floor up for one final question. All right. I spotted you.
>> Hello.
Hello. So mine is a form of encouragement. I'll make it short >> before her.
>> Okay.
>> I I wanted her to speak. You've spoken already.
>> Yeah.
>> Okay.
>> All right. Hello and good afternoon to everyone. So my question is um you know in this our country there are so many people going through a lot sometimes um it can sometime basically be on uh health um let's say financial challenge and Also single mothers going through a lot sometimes and most of times they find it difficult. Some people always complain they can't even sleep. I quite remember some time ago I fell I was sick and then I was admitted at the hospital.
The medication that I was given couldn't even help me to sleep. So the next day I have to go to a pharmacy to get something that will help me to sleep.
But forunately they couldn't give me because they also told me to go back to the same hospital to make a complaint.
And there are people who normally complain about that not sleeping and sometime they are on drugs like something that can help them to sleep you see. So um I want to know if someone like that do you need help from maybe a physician or um it's >> a clinical psychologist.
>> Yes. Or maybe um is a sign of HD HD >> ADHD.
>> So that's my question. Thank you.
>> Okay. So >> hi everyone.
>> My name is Dr. Jifa Delo. I'm a psychiatrist. So basically a psychiatrist is a medical doctor who has specialized in mental health. So usually we work with clinical psychologist, we work with occupational therapists, we work with social and all.
So I just wanted to b him just a bit. So first of all, you should be an advocate for yourself. A doctor, a clinical psychologist cannot know your problems until you open up to them and speak it all. Tell what tell them whatever you are going through. That is the only way we can help you. You are talking about sleep. Sleep is a major sign and a symptom of mental illness. It is also a sign and symptom of physical illness. So nobody can just predict that you have insomnia or hyperomnia or whatever kind of sleep problems you have. There are lots of physicians out there. There are sleep specialists.
There are psychiatrists. There are psychologists.
depending on all these caders of workers they can either prescribe medication for you or not. So usually in Ghana prescribers are only medical doctors and some nurse practitioners. Okay. So if you think you need medication come to them. If they assess you and they think you really need it you'll be given. Now mental illness has become like a jargon.
Everybody is talking about my depression, my anxiety. If you come to the clinical space and you see people who have real struggles, real diagnosis with signs and symptoms, you not see what you are seeing. So if you think you have ADHD, don't resort to the streets because these medications that are prescribed and highly controlled for treatment of ADHD and all these other mental health illnesses, they are very addictive. You become dependent on it and now you'll be fighting two battles.
Addiction and you have your inherent ADHD or whatever you are dealing with.
So please and please again there's help everywhere in every region there's a regional hospital there's a district hospital there are chips compound there every level there is a mental health professional to help you so just walk in and have a talk with them anyone you meet any clinician or a nurse tell them what your problems are and they can lead you in the right direction so don't suffer alone there's help out there if you don't look for effect help most of times wouldn't walk up to you but please let's know some people also shy away from medication thinking about side effects but let me tell you even water has a side effect okay so depending on how you use something apples are good but if you eat it in excess you have problems as I said water paracetamol has side effects but it's about the way and manner in which it is given to you and if you have side effects please come back. You mentioned that you had sleep issues the medication medication that but did you go back to the health professional to tell them that oh I'm having this and that and then they will explain to you that oh this is indeed a side effect but we can remedy it this way but we tend to just run off when we have side effects or discomfort as a result of medication and I'll vilify medical professional as being the bad ones but we are there you didn't tell I mean you didn't tell me you were having side effects. When you come to my practice, I always try to tell you what the side effects are so that you preemptive when you see it, you're not scared and you come. But let's be real, the patient to doctor ratio is is very big and for psychiatrist, I don't even want to go there. In the whole of Ghana, we are just about 50.
Somebody was mentioning that the mental health treatment gap is 98%. That is that is the truth in this part of the world. In advanced countries, it is 50%.
So even there they are suffering when you book to see a psychiatrist in the Americas in the UK it takes like eight months to see them but here we are fortunate to just literally walk in and you can get to speak to a psychiatrist or a clinical psychologist so let's let's take advantage of it we are there so that is all I have to say just thank you in fact because she touched on sleep I want to find out from you quickly I struggle with sleep the earliest I can sleep is 3:00 a.m. So do I need to come to you or her?
>> You can come to any of us.
>> Okay.
>> If she assesses you and she thinks that um you have to go higher, >> then I come to you.
>> She'll refer. Or you can come to me when I think that okay, you don't need medication.
>> You need behavioral therapy then I'll refer or I can start some therapy depending. I mean just walk up to somebody there's help.
>> All right.
>> Thank you Dr. Jifa. Right. Thank you very much. Please let's appreciate her.
And of course a big thank you to Aelia Awin Bulma Azuri. She's a clinical psychologist. She's been taking us through this session. Uh this is still the mental health forum 2026. We've been we've been here since morning talking about how to eliminate stigma associated with mental health and of also the very basic signs and symptoms that you need to identify in a bit to uh be a decent human being you know but uh let me just remind you that uh we've been sponsored by Ily Pinocchio KGL Foundation Lelay Pavlon Gume Gardens and uh he's been partnered by Premier Mind and Wellness. Premier Mind and Wellness is the leading mental health clinic in Acra and offers therapy and physiatry in person and also online. So either you have depression, anxiety, ADHD, autism, addiction and trauma treatment, book them now. You can visit the website now at premiermindwwellness.com.
Also we've been partnered by the premier aesthetic clinic the ministry of health diaspora at first that's the office of the president bell lqua chocolate sari Ghana psychology council and the multimedia group including joy news and joy FM in fact we we are coming to the end of the program so I'll just invite the convenor Jara Osman to give us the vote of thanks so that we can bring the program to an end I'm bringing the microphone to you don't worry Okay, there there's an order that you need to climb the stage to give the vote of thanks.
All right.
I It's so exciting that I still see a lot of faces. This tells me that it's um it's personal for everyone here. For those who registered online, for students, parents, I think mental health is it's a it's a topic that it's I wouldn't say it's just emotional, but it's very touching once it affects you or you are in the space, you get to really feel and understand the need for us to be here today. So, I'm happy that um you're still here and uh to to the end. Uh I would also like to say a very big thank you to um our sponsors um Ilie for giving us the coffee today.
Um last year they were with us. This year they still stayed with us. We want to say a very big thank you to Ilie.
Pinocchio has always been a friend of ours and uh the relationship I hope to grow. Belqua uh this year uh with our uh trips to the schools, our interview uh Belellaqua actually has a core mandate where mental health is one of their focus and uh they stand to represent mental health especially with those of you in school. uh if you're having any projects or something uh always um consider Bellaqua their major uh or their one of their key advocates is towards mental health and especially in schools. Uh we also want to say uh a big thank you to the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Library Authority, um also to Diaspora Affairs. Uh so government agencies, they are the policy makers. We are happy that they always collaborate with us so that at least our conversations today will not stay in this room but it will go further to actually make changes. Uh ministry of education uh we're happy to work with the ministry. Um, our next project is to work with parents, if you're here today, uh, with teachers, if you're here today, to do workshops in libraries across Ghana to uh, educate parents with children with autism. So, if you are someone who has a foundation, if you're someone who uh, works with uh, schools, if you're a special education teacher, this is the time to engage us and uh, through this workshops. It's not just going to be in AC, it's going to be across Ghana. So, you don't need to travel wherever you are. Um, yes. So, I think I've I've said enough. Uh, once again, uh, thank you for being here today.
>> So, all right. Thank you very much once again. So Jahara, in fact, I I need you backstage.
We're going to have a photo shoot session now with all the speakers that spoke. So from uh Ida to Bachoa, Susanna, everybody that spoke, we need you on stage for a quick photo session. And of course, we've been telling you that this program has been brought to you by the mental or the premier mind and wellness clinic. It is the leading clinic here in Ghana that can attend to all your mental health needs from depression, ADHD, anxiety. So log on to the website at premiermind andwwellness uh.com for every attention you need. And also whilst the photo shoot is going on, I'm going to get a short code again so we can run you through how you can donate for us to give the necessary assistance to uh identified victims of mental health related illnesses including uh autism, ADHD, and others. So we're going to take the photos now.
And of course, please whilst you're exiting, see the donation table. And uh there's also going to be refreshment downstairs. So, please don't forget to uh take something as you're exiting because we appreciate the fact that you are here. This is our little way of also showing appreciation. And thank you very much for staying throughout the session.
My name is Tutuad. So, thank you very much for being here.
Okay, please come forward a bit.
Beyond the noise, in a world built for speed, structure, and constant connection, millions of people are quietly fighting battles that often go unseen. Some struggle to focus. Some struggle to fit in. And some spend their entire lives pretending to be normal.
This is the reality of neurodeiversity.
This is the story of autism and ADHD.
Autism spectrum disorder, often called autism, affect how a person experiences communication, emotion, and the world around them. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD, affects attention, impulse control, memory, and emotional regulation. But these conditions are more than labels. They are different ways of thinking, feeling, and existing. And yet for many people, understanding comes too late.
A child who cannot sit still in class may be called difficult. A teenager who avoids eye contact may be seen as rude.
An adult overwhelmed by noise, lights, or social interaction may simply be told to try harder. But what society often mistakes for laziness, disrespect, or lack of intelligence may actually be someone struggling to survive. I
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