Helping autistic children

At the height of Duterte’s campaign to be president of the Philippines, a group of young women got together for an advocacy to then candidate Rody Duterte. The young women came from a convent school almost 50 years ago. They got together to support his candidacy and hoped he would take up their cause. It would not be easy because it was about ADHD which even today is not understood by doctors, or if they do there were different opinions about it. But it was important that it should be understood because there was a thin line between genius and incapacity.

If understood early, the child could develop exceptional talent and if not he or she will be simply shelved aside as defective from birth. This article was sent by the group of young women to this column by way of sharing the vision with people they knew.

We also decided it was time for an advocacy that would mirror Duterte’s vision of reaching to many of our countrymen who have so little in life.

The young women decided to make it their advocacy because one of them had a child who grew up to become an outstanding pianist. They made it their advocacy. Here was a young boy with exceptional talent but who would not be developed because ADHD was not understood medically. Thus was the young women’s advocacy born. President Duterte understands what it means to be gifted but without the help and support needed by them.

In January the group chose Ron Michael Adea as an example of specially gifted children to help develop their genius to flower. He first played beautiful classical music at a family reunion in Toronto where they live.

The advocacy and development of Ron came from our advocacy of helping specially gifted children when we heard Ron Adea play beautiful classical concert pieces at a family reunion.

Here was a young Filipino born and raised in Toronto, Canada whose hopeless disability became a much admired ability.

He has performed in numerous concerts in Canada to help develop the talented children with ADHD. He will have his first concert in the Philippines.

He has performed in numerous concerts in Canada, I am proud to say but this will be his first concert in the Philippines.

“The misunderstood condition is also known as Autism” – a complex neurobehavioral condition that includes impairments in social interaction and developmental language and communication skills combined with rigid, repetitive acts of behavior. Because of the range of symptoms, this condition is now called autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

The three most common forms of autism in the pre-2013 classification system were Autistic Disorder – or classic autism; Asperger’s Syndrome; and Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). These three disorders share many of the same symptoms, but they differ in their severity and impact.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a broad term used to describe a group of neurodevelopmental disorders.

These disorders are characterized by problems with communication and social interaction. People with ASD often demonstrate restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped interests or patterns of behavior.

ASD is found in individuals around the world, regardless of race, culture, or economic background. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Trusted Source, autism does occur more often in boys than in girls, with a four to one male-to-female ratio.

The CDC estimated in 2014 that nearly one in 59 children have been identified with ASD.

There are indications that instances of ASD are on the rise. Some attribute this increase to environmental factors. However, experts debate whether there’s an actual increase in cases or just more frequent diagnoses.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), both genetics and environment may determine whether a person develops autism.

Multiple sources, old and new Trusted Source, have concluded that the disorder isn’t caused by vaccines, however.

A controversial 1998 study proposed a link between autism and the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. However, that study has been debunked by other research and was eventually retracted in 2010 Trusted Source.

It’s important to note that screening isn’t a diagnosis. Children who screen positively for ASD don’t necessarily have the disorder.

Additionally, screenings sometimes don’t detect every child that has ASD.

“Ron, a 16 year old, is a case in point. He is a special needs child. He started to learn to play the piano when he was seven. He started to play by just watching the screen of his electronic cable and learned it by himself. With his unceasing desire to learn more, he was enrolled to a more formal setting, a school of music in Oakville.

Ron can finish learning and memorizing a seven page piano classical piece in a matter of one week. He is now at the artist level and has left the school of music to be on a one on one tutoring with a private theater,” writes his mother Lucy.

The piano concert will raise funds for Autism Society Philippines and ASP Laguna Chapter.

It will be held on Jan. 18, 2020 at Teatrino Promenade in Greenhills, San Juan. Cocktails at 6 pm and show begins at 7 pm. (from the Autism Society Laguna Chapter)