GTBank holds 9th annual autism conference July 30

For the ninth year in a row, Guaranty Trust Bank plc, will on July 30-31 hold the annual Autism Conference at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos.

The conference will bring together some of the world’s leading experts in autism for two days of critical discourse on supporting children and adults living with autism in Africa.

Organised as part of the GTBank’s Orange Ribbon Initiative, the conference carries the theme “Autism: Transitions, Vocational skills and The Role of Technology”.

The conference will feature presentations and keynote addresses on how to empower children and adults living with autism to reach their full potential.

Some of the facilitators include a leading expert in the field of neurodevelopmental disorders and the founder of ABE International Clinic, Dr. Loretta Burns; the Medical Director of the HFHS Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities (CADD), USA, Dr. Tisa Hooper-Johnson.

Others are Janette Washington, a speech-language pathologist with nearly a decade of experience working with children living with autism and other special needs; and Ivie Emokpae, a qualified special needs coordinator from the Institute of Education London.

Following the Autism conference will be free one-on-one consultations for children with autism and other developmental challenges, as well as counselling for parents and guardians.

There will also be sessions for speech therapy, physical therapy, behaviour analysis, audiology, clinical psychology, developmental psychiatry, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy.

These sessions will hold from August 1 to August 6 at Digital Village, Alausa, Lagos.

Commenting on the conference, the chief executive officer of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Segun Agbaje, said: “Children and adults living with autism often lack the support and vocational training that they need to develop critical life skills for leading independent and productive lives.

“As an organisation that is passionate about uplifting the most vulnerable in our society, we will continue to empower people living with autism with all the support and resources that they need to reach their full potential.”