Over the weekend (Friday 19th and Saturday 20th April), the maiden Ghana Autism Conference, organised by the Autism Ambassadors of Ghana, was held at the Accra Digital Centre. It was a time to learn more, be pumped up for the advocacy ahead and also to network since there were a lot of supporting organisations present.

During her welcome address, the brain behind the conference, Ms. Alice Mamaga Akosua Amoako, stated that there is so much more work to be done in reaching communities and educating them as well as creating awareness about autism. Regalo Eyison, a teenager living with autism, read to us his speech and he appealed to us all, as a nation, to help create a Ghana that respects the rights of children living with autism.

As an organisation that supports children and families of children with special needs and provides early intervention support in schools, homes and in our very own playroom, we were present at the maiden Ghana Autism Conference, to not just throw our support behind Mamaga but to also educate and share information with other participants. We gave out flyers and spoke with parents- shared some tips on how to support their children in their own homes.

ENNY Foundation were given space in the foyer where they mounted their  stand and spoke with as many participants that wanted to know about what they do and also to network and share information and resources with other like-minded organisations present such as Autism Compassion Africa (ACA), Mission Clinic, Hopesetters Autism Centre (HAC), GUBA Foundation and Autism and Intellectual Developmental Differences Intervention Network (AIDDIN). SONOTech gave a free health screening and Nkomor also encouraged participants to sign on to their app for medical consultation and advice from the comfort of our homes.

The conference was a success and ENNY Foundation is grateful to Autism Ambassadors of Ghana for the invitation. We look forward to more collaborations and conferences and opportunities to share knowledge and to network.