{"id":95561,"date":"2026-04-03T11:35:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T11:35:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/gambia-autism-network-marks-world-autism-day-on-april-2nd"},"modified":"2026-04-03T12:48:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T12:48:40","slug":"gambia-autism-network-marks-world-autism-day-on-april-2nd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambia-autism-network-marks-world-autism-day-on-april-2nd","title":{"rendered":"Gambia Autism Network Marks World Autism Day on April 2Nd"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"ap-article-header-tag\"> <strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. <\/strong> <\/span><b>Gambia Autism Support and Advocacy Network (GASAN) on Wednesday called for increased acceptance and inclusion of persons with autism.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The call was made during a media briefing held ahead of the annual commemoration of World Autism Awareness Day marked on April 2nd, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>The briefing, held under the theme \u2013 \u201cAutism and Humanity: Every Life Has Value\u201d, sought to raise awareness about autism spectrum disorder, promote understanding and acceptance of persons living with the condition and outline the organisation\u2019s plans for the commemoration.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking at the event held at the National Youth Parliament Hall in Kanifing, the National Coordinator of GASAN, Abdou Majid Jallow, said autism should not be viewed as a tragedy but as part of human diversity that required collective understanding, support and action.<\/p>\n<p>He noted that over the past year, the organisation had expanded its activities beyond advocacy discussions to tangible community impact.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are proud that our work has reached various corners of the community. Through national mobilisation, hundreds of Gambians have joined our efforts, deepening our advocacy and strengthening our institutional growth,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n<p>Jallow, however, highlighted limited funding and donor support as major challenges affecting the organisation\u2019s work, particularly noting minimal support from the government.<\/p>\n<p>Also speaking at the event, Oumie Ceesay, a mother of two autistic children and honorary adviser to GASAN, called for the creation of a more supportive and inclusive environment for children with autism.<\/p>\n<p>She urged the public to reject the misconception that autism is a foreign concept, stressing that persons with autism are part of Gambian society and deserve empathy, compassion and acceptance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy children have helped me see the world from a different perspective. It is important that we build an accommodating and supportive environment for them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>GASAN is preparing to mark World Autism Awareness Day, an annual event dedicated to raising awareness, promoting inclusion, and reaffirming the dignity and value of individuals on the autism spectrum.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-article-footer-note\">Find more news and analyses on <span class=\"ap-highlight-country\">Gambia<\/span> on the <span class=\"ap-highlight-brand\">Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. Gambia Autism Support and Advocacy Network (GASAN) on Wednesday called for increased acceptance and inclusion of persons with autism. The call was made during a media briefing held ahead of the annual commemoration of World Autism Awareness Day marked on April 2nd, 2026. The briefing, held under the theme \u2013 \u201cAutism and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":95560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,2366],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-95561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-to-homepage","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Gambia Autism Network Marks World Autism Day on April 2Nd - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag&quot;&gt; Africa-Press - Gambia. 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