By OBAKENG MAJE
The family of Moretlwe in Myra village, near Taung seeks help for their son, who is suffering from Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), previously referred to as Asperger’s disorder.
Boingotlo Moretlwe said her cousin, Onkgomoditse Kitso Moretlwe (9), is attending at Myra Primary School, however, there are no changes as he continues to repeat Grade 1. She further said Kitso is repeating Grade 1 for the third time this year.
“My brother cannot copy at a normal public school. We tried a couple of times to enroll him at Sebitloane Special School without any luck. What is painful is that, we did everything that was required by the school, such as filling out application forms.
“However, to this date, the boy is still doing Grade 1 for the third time. Kitso is not even comfortable interacting with other normal learners. We need the necessary help because we do not know what needs to be done for him to be accepted at Sebitloane Special School,” she said.
Boingotlo said, this has affected them negatively as a family. She said, what they needed was communication from both school and the North West Department of Education.
“We want to know where we failed while doing the application so that we can fix it. So, any assistance will be highly appreciated so that the boy can be enrolled at the school,” said Boingotlo.
Meanwhile, the North West Department of Education spokesperson, Elias Malindi said: “There are admission procedures at special schools as learners ought to undergo an assessment by specialists at the Joe Morolong Memorial Hospital in Vryburg, which is a specialised field for relevant diagnosis.
“Remember. The classes are limited based on the type of challenges learners have. The autism class must have fewer learners for the class teacher to copy.
“There are parents who want to impose admission without following the relevant processes. The waiting list is long due to the number of classrooms we have and scarcity of the specialised therapists,” Malindi said.
He further said, Sebitloane Special School is catering to the whole district hence the waiting lists of assessed learners.
The Guardian 