The brilliant mind of a child with autism

Contributed

Kimberley Brown-Muthra and her 5-year-old son Kareem Muthra enjoy some together time at home.

When Kimberley Brown-Muthra discovered her son, Kareem, 5, had autism, she feared for the worst. However, the mother was soon to discover she would have a gifted child on her hands.

Each individual with autism is unique. A brain disorder in which communication with others is difficult, autism has a range of symptoms from high to low. Last year July, Kimberley visited the offices of developmental paediatrician Dr Andrea Garbutt, where, after a two-hour assessment, she discovered Kareem was high-functioning autistic.

High-functioning autism refers to autistic people who are higher functioning than others and often possess exceptional visual, music and academic skills. She said, “I cried at the doctor’s office that day when we found out. I thought this was something that I gave to him, but really no one knows the cause of autism, and after the assessment, Dr Garbutt believes Kareem is actually Einstein brilliant.”

Occupational therapy

Kareem attends a non-special needs prep school and outside of that, he participates in occupational therapy sessions to assist his motor skills and behavioural development. While Kareem is the pride and joy of his family, Brown-Muthra attests that it can be difficult.

She explains, “The meltdowns are the worse. Sometimes when he doesn’t get what he wants he doesn’t take it well and it takes a while to calm him down. But you have to know how to deal with special-needs children and it requires a lot of patience.”

“My son is so brilliant. He’s in Grade One and doing Grade Two math and soon he’ll be moving up to Grade Three,” she said.

Until that day, the credit and collections analyst at Digicel dedicates her time to special-needs awareness. Kimberley is a member of the Jamaica Autism Support Association and supporter of the Digicel Foundation 5K Run/Walk, which takes place on Saturday, October 11.

Proceeds of the 5K Run/Walk will go towards scholarships at 10 special-needs institutions across Jamaica. Persons can sign up through the Google Play App or www.runningeventsja.com.

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The brilliant mind of a child with autism