“A Child With Autism Is Not a Curse”

MONROVIA, November 11, 2026 – Liberia’s First Lady, Kartumu Yarta Boakai, has launched the National Autism Awareness Initiative, calling for an end to stigma, discrimination, and harmful beliefs that have subjected children with autism to rejection and social exclusion.

Speaking at the Ministerial Complex in Congo Town, Monrovia, Madam Boakai said children with autism deserve dignity, protection, education, and equal opportunities, regardless of their developmental differences.

“A child with autism is not a curse. A child with autism is not possessed. A child with autism is not a punishment. A child with autism is a child — worthy of love, protection, education, dignity, and opportunity,” she declared.

The First Lady lamented that children with developmental disabilities have historically been misunderstood, abandoned, hidden, and sometimes accused of witchcraft or demonic possession.

“Their condition was misunderstood, their behavior misread, their humanity overlooked. But today, Liberia must say with one voice: That era must end,” she emphasized.

Madam Boakai said the initiative, launched in partnership with the United States-based Woods System of Care, seeks to strengthen Liberia’s capacity to provide specialized healthcare, professional training, early intervention, and educational support for children with autism and other developmental disabilities.

She recalled discussions with the organization in the United States about 14 months ago, focusing on autism, mental health, workforce development, and stronger institutional support systems.

“Because awareness without services becomes sympathy. And sympathy alone is not enough,” she stressed.

“We need diagnosis. We need trained professionals. We need early intervention. We need special education support. We need family counseling. We need community understanding.”

The First Lady urged parents not to consider their children’s developmental differences a source of shame, assuring families that every child deserves love and acceptance.

“Your child is not a mistake. Your child is not less human. Your child may experience the world differently, communicate differently, learn differently, or respond differently — but different does not mean deficient,” she said.

She called on government institutions, educators, healthcare professionals, religious and traditional leaders, and communities to support the initiative and eliminate discrimination.

Madam Boakai emphasized that autism is neither contagious nor associated with witchcraft, urging that awareness efforts extend beyond Monrovia to schools, clinics, churches, mosques, and communities nationwide.

“We cannot clap today and forget tomorrow. We cannot wear symbols of awareness and then return to the same language of ridicule,” she warned.

She stressed that meaningful inclusion requires practical government policies, trained professionals, and sustained community engagement.

“Autism does not erase a child’s future. Ignorance does. And today, Liberia chooses knowledge. Liberia chooses compassion. Liberia chooses inclusion. Liberia chooses every child,” the First Lady concluded.