In today’s episode, we speak to the Mabiletsa family, they are a tight-knit family who all have something to say in this episode.

We speak to Nthabi and her siblings (Mpho, Musa, and Koki) who give us their definitions of parenting and tell us about living with (and raising) a child diagnosed with ASD. We also speak to Onka’s nanny- who is great with him.

Onka is an 8-year-old boy who was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) when he was 2 years old.

Onka has classic autism and his diagnosis is that he is moderate to severe, nonverbal, and he started speaking at 7 years old.

Nthabi defines parenting as making sure her kids are happy, and safe and parenting them differently, according to their needs. 

Onka’s aunt and uncle join the call at some point and express how it’s been having Onka around and how protective they get of him and the love they surround him with.

They didn’t notice any signs with the child, but on a random check-up when he was 2 years old, the Pediatrician picked up that he could be autistic and referred the family.

The classic signs that they missed were that; ‘Onka couldn’t play with kids his age, repetitive behaviour (doing the same thing over and over), and unusual playing with toys.’ 

Even though there aren’t any cures for autism, therapy helps greatly. 

Nthabi even describes how people can be judgmental about a child’s behaviour, not fully understanding that there is a cause and reason for it.

I encourage you to listen to this episode, it is a sensitive episode and highly educational and insightful. Nthabi speaks about life finding the right schools for him, medication, sleep, and other vital information.

Love, patience, and support have made raising Onka easier and it’s clear how loved he is when you listen to this episode.

Yummy quote in this episode:

“My kids dictate the type of mummy that I am in a moment.”

If you would like to contact Nthabi, you can contact me at neo@sopha.co.za and I will connect you.

Thank you for listening.