Growing up, Ms Anastasia Sabrina Zuraimi knew she was not like “normal” children. She has autism – a condition that affects social interaction and communication, and is characterised by repetitive behaviour. This lifelong condition ranges from mild to severe, and has no known cause or cure. Ms Anastasia did not start speaking until she was 4.5 years old, and had difficulty making eye contact with people and socialising with her peers. Now, she is a third-year student at Millennia Institute.
Ms Anastasia, 18, and her mother, Dr Elly Sabrina Ismail, 47, gave a talk on 7 April 2018 at the Family Fair for Autism, targeted at families and people with autism. Organised by the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, a partnership between Nanyang Technological University and Imperial College London, the event ties in with World Autism Awareness Day on 2 April 2018.
Dr Elly, a general practitioner (GP), said caring for her daughter is a work in progress. To help Ms Anastasia become more communicative and to improve her social skills, Dr Elly and her husband, who is also a GP, spent around $10,000 a month on speech, occupational therapy and educational programmes, as well as music and sports classes.
Her parents also help her by acting out situations with her, for example, how to respond appropriately when a person falls down. In the past, Ms Anastasia, who admitted she “didn’t have a filter”, would have told the injured person to go to the hospital, but now she would ask if they are okay.
In Singapore, organisations such as the Autism Association run programmes to coach people with autism and help them source services, while the Autism Resource Centre has placed and supported nearly 200 adults with autism in jobs since 2012.
With caring for people with autism often extending from childhood to adulthood, caregivers should be mindful of their own health and celebrate the small victories, said Ms Teo Ginnyueh, a principal medical social worker at the Department of Developmental Psychiatry (Adult Neurodevelopmental Service) at the Institute of Mental Health.
Ms Anastasia is not letting her condition hold her back. She hopes to study literature at university and become a lawyer. “Autism doesn’t define me… I have no control over it, so why should I be ashamed of it? It’s not an illness… People with autism – they’re just like you and me, but they’re much more quirky.”
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Source: The Straits Times, 2 April 2018