By: Spokesman Newsroom

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Thursday 12th June 2025)-“Somebody walked by this family and said ‘Do you want me to help you beat them?’ and the man said ‘Well she has autism, so this is okay, this is how she reacts’, and they said, ‘That’s not how any child should react’.”

So said Founder of the St. Kitts Spectrum Services Center Dr. Sheryl Rosin, during an appearance on Freedom FM’s ‘Issues’ programme aired on Wednesday 11th June 2025(with host Austin Edinborough), while sharing a real-life local example about how negative societal reactions towards children impacts families. 

Dr. Rosin, an autism specialist and speech-language pathologist with nearly thirty ( 30) years of experience, called for the need for change in acceptance and awareness of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

“So I have a little story, you know, somebody here who-and it’s a good example of that- their child has autism, and they brought their child into town, and the ice cream store was closed that they wanted to bring the child to and the child had a big negative reaction to the ice cream store being closed and was screaming and was crying and was just having a lot of tantrums,” she explained.

“Somebody walked by this family and said ‘Do you want me to help you beat them?’ and the man said ‘Well she has autism, so this is okay, this is how she reacts.’ And they said, ‘That’s not how any child should react.’ And then that father stopped taking that child into town or out to see people because he was made to feel ashamed of the child and the disorder and there was no awareness or acceptance-and that needs to change.”

Dr. Rosin emphasized that such public shaming not only isolates families but also prevents children with autism from accessing vital experiences that support their development.

“If somebody has a negative feeling or reaction to that child, the child and the family is going to isolate, and that is going to stop inclusion, collaboration and awareness, and understanding that these children have amazing gifts that we need to tap into and see the potential within,” she stated. “We don’t want to provide negative thoughts and feelings. We want to encourage and embrace the individual for who they are because that is what is going to help them continue to develop and to gain the critical skills for their future potential.”

During the programme, Dr. Rosin and school psychologist Sloane Rosin provided details on ASD and the importance of early diagnosis and intervention.

“So autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which means it affects the brain, the neurology, and the development of the child. So what happens is, early on, you start to see deficits in three different areas. Deficits in speech and language, which we would call communication. Deficits in social, emotional reciprocity, that back and forth interaction, social skills. And we see some types of behavior we would call restrictive or repetitive behavior where we like sameness and we like to do things over and over again, which affects our play and which affects our sensory system, which can be one of seven different things,” Dr. Rosin stated.

She continued: “So we may be over or under sensitive to hearing, to sight, to taste, to smells, to touch, and to two other sensory systems. One is called the vestibular system, which is movement, and the proprioceptive system, which is our input to our joints and our muscles and kind of knowing where our body is in space and so autism is a spectrum disorder. Hence why it is called autism spectrum disorder and can affect people in a variety of different ways but the core deficit in autism is in social emotional reciprocity; those social skills and that ability to relate to people in functional ways. The quality of their social interaction is different.”

Sloane Rosin highlighted the vital importance of identifying autism as early as possible.

“The earlier we can diagnose, the better, because early intervention really matters. And when we can work with students or children as young as possible, they have the potential to grow and to really learn those skills early on,” she said.

Dr. Rosin also emphasized the role of pediatricians in this process.

“You can see the signs of the disorder as early as when the child starts to develop some crucial social milestones, like a social smile at three months of age and a response to their name. Most of the visits that you’re going to have with your child at that young age are going to be with a pediatrician, and the pediatrician should be aware of red flags, the early signs of autism, and ask those critical questions to parents and families.”

As gathered, Dr. Rosin is currently based in Florida where she runs a private practice for children with autism. She also operates in Boston and founded the St. Kitts Spectrum Services Center in Basseterre, where she previously served as consulting director. In addition, she works as a research professor and adjunct lecturer at multiple universities, focusing on evidence-based practices for autism.

The center was opened in September 2018. It is located at the Industrial Site in Basseterre.

By: Spokesman Newsroom

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Thursday 12th June 2025)-Senior Environment Officer Dr. Elrick Francis is sounding the alarm on the health dangers of using Styrofoam containers, particularly when reheated in a microwave, warning that the chemicals released during this process can be harmful to the human body.

“Plastic contains hormonal disruptors and so when you have a lot of people saying, ‘Well, why is there so much cancers going on?’ and they don’t understand that it could be that the food-just the container that you’re consuming your food in…”

Dr. Francis issued the warning during an appearance on the government’s weekly ‘In Focus’ programme aired live on Wednesday 11th June 2025,with host Ian Richards of the St. Kitts-Nevis Information Service (SKNIS), surrounding the theme “Empowering Change for a Sustainable Future.”

He highlighted the common practice of reheating food in Styrofoam containers without awareness of the health risks involved.

“A lot of people…have the Styrofoam container; like they had the food in it and they take it out the fridge, put it in the microwave, heat it up-and so they don’t understand the health implications of that,” he stated. 

Dr. Francis went on to explain the science behind his concerns: “Plastic contains hormonal disruptors and so when you have a lot of people saying, ‘Well, why is there so much cancers going on?’ and they don’t understand that it could be that the food-just the container that you’re consuming your food in… Matter of fact, if you look at the packaging, a lot of people don’t read the packaging. Read the bottom of the package where it says, do not microwave. There is a reason why they tell you do not microwave and it’s not just for the integrity of the container. It’s because chemicals will leach out of the plastic into your food, you ingest that food, and now it messes up your insides.”

During the programme, Richards added that many people are unaware that plastic is derived from oil and contains harmful toxins. Dr. Francis affirmed, “Right, yes,” before turning attention to more activities planned for Environment Month.

In discussing the Ministry’s public education efforts during Environment Month, Dr. Francis said the team is engaging residents across the island with direct community outreach.

“We have community walkthrough sensitizations and so we go out into the several communities because it’s not just Basseterre where people are. So you have to go out where people work, where people live and you have to engage the public, and to get their feedback because what you realize when you have conversations with people is that…plastic is a very useful material but a lot of people don’t know how to properly utilize it.”

Joining the conversation was Environment Officer Sherverne Gardener, who also emphasized the far-reaching impact of plastics, particularly micro plastics.

“Definitely, that is one of the main talking points I have to bring up when I’m speaking to persons, because a lot of persons, they are not quite aware of the benefits-and one of the benefits deals with health, and as time goes by, more research-we keep finding that the plastic simply breaks down into smaller particles which we probably don’t have the capacity to see right now with the naked eye and based on research, microscopic plastic are being found. It’s everywhere right now, it’s in the air, it’s all over and this can be a major issue if we do not resolve it right now. And I’m speaking to the future health and prosperity of the Federation.”

Gardener went on to say: “That is one of the main things we’re looking at. We’re looking at human resources when we were looking at banning some single-use plastic. And that is one of the main reasons and one of the main things I try to drive home when speaking to the community and show them how they personally and individually will benefit from such an initiative.”