She slightly pulls back her sleeves to reveal some evidently fresh abrasions just below the wrist, and lightheartedly remarks, “a day at work”.
In the over 10 years that she has worked with children with different disorders, Maleshwane Mauco has certainly seen many such “days at work”. A behaviour analyst (she holds an MSc in Applied Behaviour Analysis), Mauco specializes in changing behaviours that come with conditions such Autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), and Down’s Syndrome. She declares a passion for children with Autism.
She makes a candid admission that she does not know the prevalence rate of Autism in Botswana because there are no statistics.
“But,” she states, “I can tell the picture in other countries. Ten years ago, it was 1 in 1000. In 2006 it was 1 in 256. Now it is 1 in 88 ÔÇô mainly boys.”
She explains that what appears to be a rise in the incidence may be due to a number of factors that include better diagnosis, better access to services, and better interventions. She posits that in a few cases there could be “a little bit of over-diagnosis”.
“Some say environmental issues are increasing the numbers; with our changing diet and more movement of people,” she says.
Mauco has worked in the United States, Ireland, Dubai, South Africa, and Kuwait (her current station) ÔÇô mainly with Autism, but other disorders as well. Her answer to the inquiry on where these conditions are more prevalent is one word ÔÇô “everywhere”.
“I get more kids in other places due to better diagnosis,” she explains. “In other places, for instance, you have a long waiting list.”
She clarifies that with a condition such as Autism, there is no prevention, and it can just happen to anybody. She says the best chance for a child with Autism, as with many other conditions, is early diagnosis leading to early specialist intervention.
“Please,” she entreats, “parents should stop saying, ‘his uncle was just the same at that age’ when they realise that a child is not achieving normal milestones.”
She emphasizes that a very high number of children with different disorders can be developed to reach their potential.
“I give kids benefit of the doubt,” she states.
She has worked with children born with dyslexia, who have problems with reading and processing but are extremely intelligent. With Autism, she explains that it has a wide-ranging spectrum; on the one end you have highly intelligent individuals some of whom go on to be top achievers, while on the other end you get children who can’t talk or take themselves to the toilet.
“In other countries, these individuals become highly successful because they are provided with support,” Mauco explains.
Her approach is always to get parents to better advocate for their children. This also entails getting parents to appreciate that they have a key part to play in their children’s therapy.
“As a parent,” she says, “you are your child’s best chance. If you are not doing your part [at home], it means there’s no carryover, and therefore the intervention is not functional.”
She understands the frustration of parents, especially of children with Autism. She has come across parents who haven’t had a full night’s sleep in 13 years because children with Autism don’t really do bedtime.
Understandably so, Mauco views Autism as a disorder not for the affected child, but a societal one. She talks of the challenge that parents face when they take a child with Autism into the community.
“Sometimes it can be difficult to integrate the child into society or even within the family when everybody gives an opinion on how to raise your child. You really need the support of family and society,” she says.
Some behaviours lead to parent-child conflict. For instance, there are children whose parents pronounce them naughty. Mauco, who also does parent training, cautions against putting a label on a child whose behaviour is deemed not to fit with convention.
“When you put a label on a child you are limiting them,” she advises. “You are actually putting a ceiling on the success of the child because that’s how they might start to define themselves.”
So, what to do?
“Create time for that child and get to understand them better. And start looking at your own behaviour as well. Do you give them attention when they are sitting quietly, or when they display the behaviour you deem undesirable? The other important thing is to teach them to take responsibility for their actions,” she says.
The same approach, she suggests, should be adopted by school authorities when they handle children who display “problem behaviour”. She has seen countries like the United States apply positive behaviour support ÔÇô by creating a school culture in which positive and appropriate behaviours are enforced ÔÇô to great success. She says the more appropriate route should be to search for reasons why a child behaves the way they do.
“Perhaps the child has a problem in class and doesn’t know how to ask for assistance. Or it could be that the child is attention-seeking and finds that they get attention by joking a lot,” she says.
In some cases, it could be that learners are finding what they are being taught very difficult or the opposite. The latter assertion leads Mauco to explain that there is a high number of children for whom the curriculum is lower than what they are capable of, which means that they need to be given extra work.
“Maybe our school system has not trained teachers to deal with gifted children,” she states.
And how about a child who is dismissed as stupid in front of the class?
“I don’t want to be seen to be criticizing teachers, but they should be able to adapt the curriculum to a child,” she asserts. “Our teachers are general education teachers, and they are not trained to be special education teachers, yet children with special needs are put in their class. I understand the teachers’ plight; they are given a job that is hard to do without adequate tools. I hope in future teachers will get adequate training to handle different situations. ”
We said earlier that Mauco also does parent training. She observes that the juggling roles that come with modern life have made parenting a bit more difficult that it was previously.
“I think parenting is the toughest thing ever because you are moulding a whole human being to become a productive member of society,” she states.
She has observed that sometimes parents want to be more friends to their children than parents. Her advice is to open lines of communication, but still remain a parent. And there has to be mutual respect.
“You have to model good behaviour for your child,” she says. “Sometimes we assume that children know the rules, and we punish them without having sat them down to make sure that they know the rules.”
She says it is not a bad idea for parent and child to write down the rules, as well as responsibilities, and sign off.
She has heard the common criticism that most parents have outsourced parenting to the TV and house helpers. However, she does not think that parents are purposely not spending enough time with their children.
“Life has become very busy,” she says. “Jobs are hectic, and social expectations are high.”
For Mauco, the satisfaction of the job comes when a child who previously could not talk begins to string some words together ÔÇô or when a parent informs her that a child is now able to go to the toilet by themselves, and the family no longer buys nappies.
“Our work is data-driven, and we graph a lot,” she says. “When you see the graph going well or when you see the child beginning to behave appropriately….. it’s fulfilling. Some results are in your face, while others take time.”
The downside is the high burnout because it is a physically toiling job.
Though she has never worked in Botswana, she makes it a point that each time she is home she volunteers at one of the centres that cater for children with special needs. She feels working in different countries has given her better exposure because she got the opportunity to be supervised by highly regarded professionals. She has also learnt to navigate the cultural sensitivities that are even more pronounced when dealing with children with disorders. The entire experience, she relates, will help her make a more meaningful contribution when she eventually relocates back home ÔÇô which she says will be soon.
