Relationship
A guide to supporting autistic children for parents, teachers
AUTISM remains widely misunderstood in Ghana. The World Health Organisation (2023) estimates one in 100 children globally are autistic; Ghana Health Service surveillance notes rising identifications yet persistent gaps in training, especially outside Accra and Kumasi. Many teachers have never seen a visual schedule; many parents meet only confusion when their child reacts strongly to noise, touch, or change. An autistic child is not “difficult” – they process sensory input and social cues differently. Some speak fluently but tire quickly in groups; some use few words but excel at patterns, memory, or art. The spectrum is exactly that – a spectrum, not a label.
Three findings shape doable action. Kasari et al. (2022) showed structured peer-engagement raised classroom initiations by 30 per cent among autistic learners. AHEAD-Ghana (2023) reported visual schedules cut disruptions by 31 per cent in public primary classes. University of Ghana Psychology Centre (2024) found two-minute daily “strength talks” at home lowered parent stress and improved compliance. These are not imported theories; they are practices we have helped families and schools apply through Counselor Prince & Associates Consult (CPAC), our accredited clinical mental-health and training centre.
Make the day knowable
Under Ghana Education Service Inclusive Education guidelines, a simple board—maths, break, reading—reduces ambiguity. In low-resource classrooms that may be paper cards; in Accra schools it may be printed strips. At home, keep one anchor ritual: water, bag, shoes by the door. Prepare the child before assemblies or church using phone photos: “we greet, then sit.” Offer a voluntary quiet corner, not punishment but reset. Break tasks; today open the book, tomorrow write the date.
Coordinate, do not duplicate
A teacher’s brief note—what helped, what tripped—lets parents rehearse the same cue at home. A parent’s update—late sleep, constipation, and a win—helps the teacher start gently. At CPAC, we coach families and teachers to keep a single-page plan: triggers, calmers, strength, and one same fact: adults burn out in silence. Couples need a hand-off each evening; teachers need peer debriefs. Kasari’s peer model works for grown-ups too. In towns with few clinicians, radio parent groups and GHS community nurses become key allies.
Celebrate real progress
When a boy counts change correctly or a girl copies a spelling, name it: “You remembered—that helped.” Strengths fund courage for harder tasks. Review monthly and drop what fails.
Remember the supporter’s needs
My therapy and counselling work and Counselor Blessing Offei’s counselling and caregiver-training show the autistic children do not require inspiration; they require environments that remember them tomorrow as clearly as today—a posted routine, a break offered, a skill noticed, and adults who talk to each other. That is nation-building at the level that matters.
Resources
- CPAC (award-winning Mental Health and Counselling Facility): 0559850604 / 0551428486
- Ghana Education Service Inclusive Education resource packs (request through district office)
- GHS child-development clinics for referral
Websites
References
- AHEAD-Ghana. (2023). Visual supports and classroom participation in Ghanaian primary schools. Journal of Inclusive Education in Africa, 7(2), 44–59.
- Kasari, C., et al. (2022). Peer engagement interventions for autistic learners. Pediatrics, 149(3), e2021053277.
- University of Ghana Psychology Centre. (2024). Daily parent strength-talk and family stress: A pilot study. Ghana Journal of Psychology, 12 (1), 21–34.
- World Health Organisation. (2023). Autism spectrum disorders fact sheet.
To be continued …
Source: REV. COUNSELOR PRINCE OFFEI and certified caregiver and licensed counsellor, Counselor Blessing Offei’s insights on special education, relationships, mental health, and parenting/training special needs children in Ghana. He is a leading mental health professional, lecturer, ADR Expert/Arbitrator, renowned author, and marriage counsellor at COUNSELOR PRINCE & ASSOCIATES CONSULT (CPAC COUNSELLOR TRAINING INSTITUTE). He is the author of several books, including “Preparing for a Happy and Fulfilling Marriage” and “A Counsellor’s Guide to Using ‘Preparing for a Happy and Fulfilling Marriage’ Effectively.”
Websites
Parenting teens can be challenging. But it can also be a joy. The key is to know how to care for yourself, first and foremost. Before you have children, you might think that parenting will come naturally. And, to some degree, it does. But there are days (and sometimes months and years) when all parents could use some extra support.
Last week we looked at some four simple yet powerful approaches for parenting teens that build strong relationships for the long-run. Here are the remaining two:
4: Keep communication going
Because we are often busy and distracted, we do not always take the time to really focus on our kids when they’re trying to tell us something. Take advantage of the time you have together. Having dinner together as a family, using car time to talk, or chatting before bed are good ways to stay in daily touch with your teen. Prioritise quality time as well as quantity: Consider having breakfast out on the weekend as a special catch-up time to chat about the week. Or schedule monthly “family meetings” to discuss how things have been going and any conflicts that have arisen.
5. Be an empathetic listener
Listening with empathy and caring is one of the most important tips on parenting a teenager. Researchers have shown that people’s brain patterns synchronise when they listen closely to one another and watch each other’s expressions. As a result, the connection between them becomes stronger. Not feeling truly heard can lead to isolation and lack of self-esteem which are the root causes of anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. Therefore, take listening seriously. It’s not just a way of coping with teenagers; it has an enormous impact on their well-being.
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SHE did not find out he was cheating. She found out he was drowning.
It was two weeks after their beautiful wedding. The jollof was still in the fridge. A loan officer called her number—not his—and politely asked, “Madam, please tell your husband to pay his overdue loan. We have been calling him.”
That was how she discovered her new husband had entered their marriage with a hidden debt of over GH¢40,000. No cheating. No other woman. Just a financial secret.
And that is how many Ghanaian marriages begin to die. Not with a shout, but with a secret alert on a phone.
In my therapy/counselling office in Accra, week after week, I sit with couples whose marriages are not broken by infidelity, but by invoices. If you ask me what is quietly killing Ghanaian marriages today, I will tell you without blinking: it is not that love has died; it is that money honesty never lived.
We prepare for the wedding. We do not prepare for the wallet.
What is money honesty?
Let me define it simply. Money honesty is not that you both earn the same. It is that you both know the same. It is the ability to sit down and say without fear:
“This is how much I earn.”
“This is how much I owe.”
“This is how I was raised to see money.”
“This is what scares me about money.”
Financial transparency is not about control. It is about clarity. You cannot build trust on top of secrets.
Many couples tell me, “Counselor, we love each other, love will handle money.” I always answer, “Love is the car, but money honesty is the fuel. Love without honesty cannot move.”
Why do Ghanaian partners hide money?
From my clinical observation, it is not always wickedness. It is often woundedness.
1. The fear of losing power: Especially for men, money is seen as power. “If she knows how much I have, she will control me or disrespect me.” So he hides.
2. Family entanglement: “If my wife knows I give my mother GH¢1,500 every month, there will be trouble.” So he creates a second MoMo account. Many Ghanaian marriages have three accounts—his, hers, and the secret family one.
3. Past trauma: A woman who grew up in a home where her mother begged for chop money will never be honest about her savings. She is not greedy. She is scared. She is saving for her survival.
4. Debt shame: In Ghana today, with easy access to Qwikloan, Fido, and bank salary loans, many young men and women enter marriage already drowning in debt. They hide it because they feel, “If I tell him/her, they won’t marry me.”
So the hiding begins. And that is where the insurance lapses.
The 3 Devastating Prices You Pay For Financial Secrecy
Research from Kansas State University found that arguments about money are the number one predictor of divorce, more than arguments about children, in-laws, or sex. Why? Because money arguments are never about money. They are about trust, respect, and security.
Price 1: It destroys trust faster than infidelity.
When you discover your spouse has a secret child, you are hurt. When you discover your spouse has a secret debt that loan officers are now chasing YOU for, you feel betrayed and foolish. Clients tell me, “Counselor, I can forgive cheating, but I cannot forgive that he made me look like a fool at the bank.”
Price 2: It creates chronic anxiety in your home.
A home where money is a mystery is a home where no one sleeps well. The wife is always checking his phone not for other women, but for loan alerts. The husband is always anxious when his wife says, “Can we talk?” You cannot have intimacy where there is financial anxiety.
Price 3: It teaches your children to lie.
Children are watching. When daddy says, “Tell anyone who calls that I am not around because of money,” you are teaching your son that lying about money is normal. We are raising a generation of financially dishonest partners.
