Living with autism is an extremely challenging situation for a child, the parents and care giver(s). Speaking incoherently, not smiling back when smiled at, avoiding eye contact, not responding to their names when called and much more, are only a few of the behavioural traits of a typical autistic and if one has never met one, spent some time with one, you might be a little bit confused when you do, and that is if you actually notice the traces easily and quickly.

The average day in the life of a family managing a child/children suffering from autism is a long and stressful one. Even for those who have been able to successfully design a work and activity plan for the kid(s), managing their meltdowns, picking the right foods and tutoring them is not an easy task at all especially as the kids grow older. No wonder there are instances where a lot of parents isolate these kids from the rest of the world because of the fear of societal acceptance….but for how long?

In Nigeria today, there is little or no existent data on the number of cases existing and not much is known about the statistics of children on the spectrum. This is due to several challenges including the following areas such as Social Stigma,Lack of awareness,Inadequate testing facilities,Lack of Knowledgeable personnel,Lack of adequate government support and Religious beliefs

It is with this background information that the Kanyeyachukwu Autism Society KAS, a non-profit established in 2017 and aptly named after the young art prodigy Master Kanyeyachukwu Tagbo-Okeke, decided with the help of his art works, to draw attention to children and adults living with autism by hosting a yearly art exhibition tagged “FABULOUS AUTISTIC & TALENTED”.

This year’s exhibition aptly themed “no child left behind”, was a hugely successful follow-up to the debut which held in 2019 and which featured art works and performances by various children living with special needs.

And just as his other exhibitions, what a display of the beauty, grace and gift from God it was.

Obviously Kanyeyachukwus’ parents, teachers and handlers have been busy, as his works have graced the walls of several galleries and museums in Nigeria, Europe and other parts of Africa in the last 3 years and even during the lockdown last year, gaining wide acceptance in the art world with art collectors and enthusiasts viewing, purchasing and reviewing his works.

His art has been described in the past as “deep, highly intelligent, and unbelievably very mature for his age” – Dr. Kolja Kramer, Curator Moya Museum Vienna, Austria.

Back home, it has also been described as “one that infuses the deep colors of our society and in his own way, brings it to life on canvas.“ – Joseph Umoibom, art Curator and GM Terra Kulture art and studio, Lagos Nigeria.

Kanye is very ingenious and has a lot more to give said Prof Ernest Agoba
University of Jos dept of fine and applied arts

Kanye has achieved quite a lot in record time and they include;

Kanye who I aptly call “the young Picasso”, has also participated in quite a number of exhibitions for his age, most of which have helped to announce him as an upcoming creative genius, living with autism. Still, this has not rubbed of the fact that he needs to be well managed in fact, it only goes to show that once well handled, autism can be a blessing in disguise.

Speaking with his parents, one comes to the conclusion that aside the awards and reviews, they still go through what every parent of an autistic goes through when managing their child. In fact it looks to me like they have been made to double their efforts for as an internationally acclaimed artiste, kanyeyachukwu has on many occasions had to attend award ceremonies, press interviews, exhibitions, photoshoots etc and all with these occasions come the “lights, the cacophony of voices, musical instrument”s etc, which are usually a trigger to huge meltdowns suffered by autistics.

“it all starts with coming to terms with the situation and accepting your fate” says the mum. “when Kanye was born he was the cutest of all our babies and for a while everything was okay till we started noticing a few behavioral issues and saw the warning signs, then we had our entire world thrown into turmoil but we never relented, never stopped praying, and my husband and I never stopped thanking God for the gift of having him.”

For me as a writer, Kanyeyachukwu’s story speaks about change, patience, compelling love, focus and attention, and this continues to be extremely important now. Telling families, especially the ones that have lost all hope in the ability for their children to attain some level of functional independence, live a fulfilled life, make friends, speak, sing, dance and do all the other things children and adults do, that with early detection and intervention there is hope. The Kanyeyachukwu story and that of many other special and gifted children is proof that NO CHILD SHOULD BE LEFT BEHIND