DR RADICA MAHASE

I am Robin Ramkissoon and I am an ICT/ business analyst. More importantly, I am a proud dad to two amazing boys, Zachary and Zane. Zachary is 14 years old and Zane is five.

Zane is on the autism spectrum. He likes to run everywhere; it is great exercise, and helps him sleep well at night but it’s also dangerous. He has to be constantly monitored and we have to ensure that all doors, gates, etc, are locked at all times. We have had situations where he ran into the road, even at school.

Zane likes to line up his toys and look at objects spinning. He does not play with toys in the typical way, for example, he will not ride his bike, but he will push it or throw it down and spin the wheels. He jumps, flaps and spins when he is excited, which helps him to cope with overstimulation and prevent meltdowns.

He gets a lot of stares, though, and sometimes people either move away or take their kids away. At first the negative reactions bothered me but I realised that when you start taking your child out regularly, people start to get used to seeing him, sometimes ask questions – so it’s a good way to spread awareness and create inclusion.

[caption id="attachment_960646" align="alignnone" width="670"] Robin Ramkissoon says spending quality time with both Zachary and Zane and balancing work, etc can be challenging at times.Photo courtesy - Robin Ramkissoon -[/caption]

Zane likes to eat, although he will be picky and not eat everything and you have to know how to feed him. He sings and dances to music on YouTube and he loves songs with numbers, shapes, and colours. He also likes regular music which has repetitive tones and lyrics.

He loves to bathe or play in water, so I also have to be very careful and vigilant about that.

He loves to play games on the phone and tablet. However, he tends to throw stuff, so this requires close and constant supervision. I’ve lost TVs, tablets and phones because of this. I am still trying to figure out what creates the need or impulse to throw objects.

His main challenge is communicating verbally; he says words, but doesn’t converse. This is especially difficult when he is sick or in pain, because you have to figure out what the issue is.

When Zane was diagnosed with autism it was a bit of a shock. We knew something was wrong but at three years old, I thought he might just be a bit slow and hyper. Just like most people, I didn’t know much about autism. We researched it, but the initial learning curve was great and overwhelming at times.

AsThe world will love my autistic child a lot, but there is still a lot of learning and experience to come.

My son is such a sweet and loving and genuine child I would not change him for the world. I love him just as he is.

As a father it was pretty difficult – my marriage did not survive long after his diagnosis. At the time it was very challenging for us to be on the same page with how to move forward, and after his mother left, I had to find ways to be able to work and to take care of him.

I was at a very low point a

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