Youth autism ambassadors

DR RADICA MAHASE

REANNA is 15-years-old. She’s a form four student at San-Fernando Central Secondary School. When Reanna started volunteering with Support Autism TT (SATT) she was a shy, quiet little girl. Over the years she has grown into a confident, strong youth leader, taking charge at events, directing and movitivating others. She attends events regularly and she’s always involved in the conceptualisation and planning of events and activities. She interacts with those with autism, their parents and siblings and the general public.

When I conceptualised SATT five years ago, I always knew that it would be based on the concept of volunteerism and that the focus would be on the youth. I had this vision of youths rushing to volunteer with us because they wanted to create a better TT for those with autism, special needs in general and just everyone. In our first year we had five youth volunteers. But this early group encouraged their friends and they were totally committed to making a difference.

What was interesting is they weren’t only speaking about how they were helping those with autism, but they were so happy to talk about how interacting with people with Autism impacted on them. Reanna noted, “I always look forward to interacting with those with autism because they always bring me joy, always. I love talking to them and understanding their way of doing things. Every session there’s always something to take away and learn. I’ve learnt to love, always be grateful for what I have and to see autism as a blessing.”

Today we have more than 200 youth volunteers. We have training sessions for them, we sensitise them to the needs of those with autism/special needs and we allow them to conceptualise, develop and implement activities at every single event. Most of the time they run these events with minimal supervision from the executive team. They are a formidable group of young, vibrant leaders, already impacting change in such a meaningful way in our country.

Too often, we underestimate the potential of our youth. The thing is they are the ones who will adopt leadership roles; they are the next government ministers and policy makers. That is why it is so crucial that we train them to make informed decisions from young, we allow them to develop leadership skills, we give them opportunities to interact with those with special needs, to learn from others and to become empathetic individuals so that we establish a strong foundation for them to build the TT in which they will live.

At an event recently, SATT recognised the valuable work that Reanna and four other youth volunteers have done to make TT autism friendly. These five young ladies, all students of San-Fernando Central Secondary School were made youth ambassadors. They have been with the NGO from its inception and most important, they have a deep sense of commitment towards making TT a better place for those with special needs. All of them intend to go into careers focusing on special needs.

As Reanna stated, “I volunteer with Support Autism TT because I love to help. It’s in my nature to help others. I love interacting with the kids with autism because they give me a feeling of happiness. I want other youths to stop stereotyping, stop thinking that children with autism can’t do anything. They can do any and everything you can do. They are the most talented and most intelligent I’ve ever met. And I’m so grateful that I’ve met them because they inspire me the most. I’d also advise youths to start volunteering, I think it’ll make them realise that there are so many beautiful things out here in the real world and not everything is on a screen.”

My advice to the youth of TT is this – Don’t let adults make you feel that you are incapable of making a difference from a young age. I believe that some of you have a deeper sense of empathy and commitment, are less judgemental and have better leadership skills than many adults. I believe that if you decide that TT should be friendly towards those with autism and special needs, then you can make that happen. As Malala Yousafzai said, “I raise up my voice not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.” The youth is the future voice of TT. Let’s give them the opportunities to let their voices be heard from a young age.

Dr Radica Mahase

Founder and director, Support Autism TT