CAMAGÜEY.- Every day is a challenge to the mysterious sea of their minds. Some are silent and indifferent, others try to express their enjoyment of the music, others move anxiously. That day was a special morning session for January 28 and almost all the students of the Héroes del Moncada School for children with autism spectrum disorder participated.
Dorian kept his face serene, but he woke up like a bristling sea about to drizzle. That day he was afraid that students younger than him approached him, he protected himself in contact with his teacher, he frowned and lowered his eyes, wishing that those minutes would pass quickly to find a comfort zone.
Like him, the rest of the boys were accompanied by an adult. Honestly, he couldn't tell sometimes if he's a relative or a teacher from the institution. These infants mainly manifest problems in communication and social interactions. His calm in the shelter of the school staff denotes that they have managed to form a certain relationship with them.
The patio where the morning session took place is contained by a high wall that isolates it from outside noise. The blue color of the wall and the view of the sky, dissipate all the energy or tensions.
There was a boy dressed as Pilar's father, he wore a suit and a painted black mustache. The art instructors guided him in his performance, while the mother talked about the positive evolution of her son and his liking for the scene. He could not communicate well what he feels, but he participated, he had the role and an audience that applauded him; he and his classmates had a place in this school.
HELP THEM GROW
“Years ago it was not possible to carry out these types of activities with them,” Yudelis Pérez, director of the institution, proudly comments, just at the end of the morning session. The center was founded in 2016 and is the only one of its kind in the province, as it specializes in caring for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
The World Health Organization states that 1 in 100 children worldwide suffer from it, although the prevalence in many low-income countries is unknown. In 2020, the UNICEF website in Cuba stated that there were a total of 968 children and adolescents with autism in the country, 400 of them in general education schools and the rest in special education.
In addition to the Héroes del Moncada center in Camagüey, only the provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, Cienfuegos and Havana have specialized institutions like this one. The establishment, located in the historic center of the city, is a welcoming space due to its architecture, its silences and its blue walls.
Enrollment is 46 students, only 4 females since ASD is more frequent in males. There are 10 groups of approximately 5 students each. Yudelis emphasizes the individualized attention that infants require: “We have the case of a pair of twins who entered the center together. One of them evolved significantly and today receives classes in general education. His brother had a different development and we still care for him in our center ”.
Héroes del Moncada is a transit school, explains the director, because as students develop skills they are incorporated into general education. It has stimulation rooms for children with communication disorders from 3 to 5 years old. The diagnosis of ASD is made at the age of 6, since then each student has a curricular adjustment and participates in preparation workshops for adult life, therapies (zootherapy and equine therapy) and other activities.
Listening to her speak, I think of the daily and persevering work that they do over the years, with the aspiration of creating skills in these children for their better incorporation into society.
This task is not limited to schoolchildren, the school also advises the personnel involved, family members, and the teachers who receive them in other institutions when the time comes.
THE ART EXHIBITION
The arts are an essential tool in working with schoolchildren.
“We have creative appreciation workshops where all specialties are mixed. The methodology is not fixed, because everything depends on the individual abilities of each one”, explains Susel, a jovial teacher with long hair who participated with the little artists in the morning show. Beside her was also Elizabeth to guide them. Both are art instructors at the school, with 13 and 9 years of experience in special education, respectively.
Due to the tenderness they transmit when talking about their work, seeing them during classes allows us to recognize the difficulties they face. The stress and resistance of the pupils to complete homework is a daily challenge.
Susel and Elizabeth gave a drawing class in the classroom at the end of the hall, small, with just three tables and squeezed in between the shelves of materials and scraps. For some children drawing was a happy exercise; another one needed more support from the teacher.
They did the work together, the young instructor overcame the communication barriers and revived the will of the disciple. The pencil did not rest until he met the challenge. It was another day in the personal evolution of the student.
Therefore, every achievement is satisfying. The entrance of the institution has a small exhibition dedicated to José Martí, where tempera prints appear with his image. Among all, the most original, bears the signature of Dorian.
DORIAN, A PORTRAIT ON AUTISM
At first impression, the name sounded very interesting to me and I remembered the famous novel by Oscar Wilde and that plot around a work of art. I did not imagine that this character in front of me would also relate deeply to painting, although happily in a healthy and constructive way.
Dorian is a skinny, black-haired teenager. He tends to slouch and squeeze his fingers when something bothers him. I could see him stressed in a short moment, perhaps the group of people around him became a crowd in his mind, and he didn't want to be alone. He called Yudelis, the director, until he found comfort in her contact.
There is a beautiful friendship between them, so much so that Dorian becomes demanding in search of his attention, to talk about his desires and his thoughts.
This student stands out for his plastic skills. He has evolved to paint on a free theme, while it is common for schoolchildren to reproduce the images or patterns that are shown to them.
“Dorian even managed to make abstract drawings, of which only he could express the meaning. His evolution was remarkable, however, in this disorder it is normal for there to be periods of crisis, and therefore a certain setback, ”explains Susel in the small creative workshop room, while four of her students faced the sheets and colors.
Yudelis proudly talks about the disciple and the award from him in the Where the Palm Grows Contest, a plastic creation contest for children and adolescents from all over the country.
WE HAVE BROKEN STEREOTYPES
Socializing is not the most difficult thing for a schoolboy with autism spectrum disorder. Their senses can also suffer alterations, in such a way that they become very irritated at times with some visual and auditory stimuli. Some have difficulty adjusting to the dark, or feel anxiety in crowds.
“People told us: How are they going to take them to the theater? and some time later we did that show accompanied by Lidis Lamorú, that was only the first time. We have broken stereotypes”, says Elizabeth, the art instructor.
She then recalls the attitude of one of the organizers of the event, which shows that not everyone is trained or sensitized to work with them: "She saw a student behaving badly because he was stressed and she commented that if he continued like this they were going to kick him out." . The answer was: if he doesn't act, no one does.
The Héroes del Moncada center is not limited to the personal growth of its students, it also educates society, to create that future of opportunities they deserve.
Its blue rooms evoke the color with which the disorder has been symbolized, the memory that the sea can be dark and stormy, or bright in the summer, in the same way that some days are better than others for people with autism. Through the seasons, their teachers guide them.
Traslated by Linet Acuña Quilez