“I want everybody to join me in recognising the need for access to services and resources across the autism spectrum. I want us, as a nation, to feel empowered to make a difference in the lives of autistic individuals and their families alike.”
This is the goal of speech-language pathologist Donnella Rodriguez, 48, who has been advocating for the population she mostly works with, people on the autism spectrum. But it is her particular goal for April, Autism Awareness Month, and April 2, Autism Awareness Day.
“We need to do more and get the word out there that these families need a lot more support. The stigma and (lack of) understanding that’s around autism, I just want to sensitise people about it.
“The families who experience autism, they breathe, eat and sleep autism. They experience it every day of their lives. I feel the children need to experience something that is sensory-friendly.”
With that in mind, this year she has organised a sensory-friendly fun day at Five Islands Water and Amusement Park in Chaguaramas on April 16. The park will open at 9 am to children on the spectrum, two hours earlier than usual, so they and their families can enjoy certain sections of the park.
Rodriguez intends to speak to the lifeguards and staff members, and educate them on autism, how to monitor the children, and provide supportive care and service so parents can relax and enjoy the day with their children in an environment of acceptance and understanding.
[caption id="attachment_1008960" align="alignnone" width="683"] Speech-language pathologist Donnella Rodriguez. -[/caption]
After 11 am, when the park is opened to the general public, the parents will have to monitor their own children.
She will also host a free virtual symposium on April 29, when she will play recorded videos of professionals specialising in autism, who will share information. There will also be a live question-and-answer session after the videos.
Rodriguez said she has always been a nurturing person and described herself as a mother hen.
She recalled attending St Monica's Preparatory School in Port of Spain, where the teachers assigned her as the “buddy” for a boy with cerebral palsy. Then, at Providence Girls’ Catholic Secondary School, there was a partially paralysed girl whom she volunteered to help.
She said she never saw them as “different” and had developed the desire to be a teacher.
In 1995 she started doing an associate’s of arts and science degree in early childhood education at Miami Dade College, but transferred to Barry University to do elementary education.
She said there was a scholarship for a bachelor’s degree in special education, so she applied, was accepted, and graduated in 2000.
“I was a special education teacher and there was a lady who would come every day to ‘pull out’ a child for therapy. I asked her to sit in to see what she pulled out my kids for, and when I observed her and saw what she did, I said to myself, ‘This is what I need to be doing for the rest of my life.’”
She applied to do her maste
