For 16 years, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) has used its Orange Ribbon Initiative to keep autism on the national conversation. But at its latest conference in Lagos, the message went beyond awareness.
It was about what happens after awareness.
At the 16th GTCO Autism Conference, held at the MUSON Centre, Lagos, families, psychologists, behavioural experts, advocates and business leaders gathered around one question: what would it take to make acceptance a reality for people living with autism?
The answer, from speakers and organisers, was simple but demanding: acceptance must follow people everywhere, from the home to the classroom, workplace and public spaces.
The conference, themed “Acceptance in Action: From Family to Classroom to Workplace to Public Spaces,” reflected GTCO’s attempt to move the conversation from sympathy to practical inclusion.
For Segun Agbaje, Group Chief Executive Officer of GTCO Plc, the change begins with a different understanding of what acceptance means.
“Over the years, one thing has become increasingly clear: acceptance changes outcomes,” Agbaje said.
He urged individuals, businesses and institutions to stop treating inclusion as a box to be ticked and instead make it part of everyday life.
“The goal is to build a future where acceptance is not the exception, but the norm,” he added.
From awareness to opportunity
GTCO’s Orange Ribbon Initiative has grown into one of the company’s most visible social impact programmes, with the organisation saying its efforts have provided more than 5,000 children with access to one-on-one consultations with medical professionals.
More than 15,000 people have also received training on better ways to understand and manage autism.
Beyond the numbers, the initiative focuses on free professional consultations, inclusive education and support for applied autism research.
For Oyinade Adegite, Chief Communications Officer at GTCO Plc, the responsibility also extends to the workplace.
Adegite said GTCO operates a non-discriminatory hiring policy that welcomes people with disabilities, reinforcing the argument that inclusion should not end when a child leaves school.
The conference brought that message to life through the experiences and expertise of professionals who work closely with autistic people and their families.
Dr Bernadette Kilo, an Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Consultant, challenged institutions to reconsider the way they view people whose neurological differences may affect how they learn, communicate or work.
“Different is different. It is not less,” she said.
She also stressed the importance of ensuring that children are not denied access to education because their brains function differently.
Lanre Duyile, Chief Executive Officer of Behaviorprise Consulting, focused on another important part of the conversation: understanding behaviour.
“Behaviour speaks,” he said, explaining that behaviour often communicates an underlying need, whether a person is seeking comfort or trying to avoid something distressing.
Understanding that reason, he said, is essential to providing effective support.
For Solape Azazi, an International Behaviour Analyst, inclusion starts much closer to home.
“Acceptance must first live at home. Acceptance is love in action,” she said.
Her message was a reminder that before society can demand inclusion from schools, offices and public institutions, families must create spaces where autistic children feel safe enough to learn and grow.
A story brought to life
One of the conference’s most memorable moments came not from a speech, but from the stage.
Corporate Dance World presented the story of Amara, an autistic child whose journey eventually leads her to become a successful head of design and innovation.
The performance offered a simple picture of what can happen when a child is given the opportunity to develop rather than being defined by a diagnosis.
Its message was equally clear: acceptance should not be viewed as charity.
It is an investment in human potential.
That idea captures the direction of GTCO’s autism advocacy over the past 16 years. The focus is no longer simply on telling people that autism exists. It is on asking what families, schools, employers, communities and governments are doing to ensure that autistic people can participate fully in society.
As the conference ended, the challenge remained beyond the MUSON Centre.
Acceptance must become something people experience, not merely something organisations talk about.
For GTCO, the Orange Ribbon Initiative has provided a platform for that conversation for more than a decade. The next stage is turning the conversation into everyday action, so that inclusion follows autistic people from their homes to schools, workplaces and the wider society.
