A moment with Frederick Gappy |16 January 2024
With mum Claire Gappy and swimming coach Robert Suzette at the last Indian Ocean Islands Games in Madagascar
‘You have to love all and be loved’ – Frederick
Frederick Gappy, 17, is well-known in Seychelles. “We live, I swim, I go to the Autism centre, and I also receive prizes for being a model for autistic children,” started Frederick.
Frederick Gappy was born on October 29, 2006, at 1:30pm and according to his mother, Claire Gappy, he did not cry at all.
“Frederick was born on a Sunday, and by Monday, we were home, and the doctor said everything was fine with him. He started growing without any major issues, but I had to wake him up, offer him food and drink, as he would not communicate with me. He would not cry,” shared Mrs Gappy.
“I am a strong guy. I do not cry. You are the one who cry like a baby for every small thing,” Frederick interjected.
The fact that he did not cry was not initially a cause for concern for his mother. “I was not worried, as many people said that babies do not cry, and all. He was like other babies. Before turning 18 months, every time we drove past Eden Island on our way home from daycare, he would shout “bato! bato!” But other than that he did not actually say much as he neared his two years.”
It was the childminder at his daycare who noticed something was off. Frederick just sat in a tub of water, walked back and forth in the corridor, and spent time in the kitchen. Mrs Gappy said her response to the childminder was “Maybe something happened to him. Still I had no clue that my child was autistic at that time.”
Time passed, and after two months, Frederick’s odd behaviour was still visible. He ran and hid in the toilet when other children started crying. “Even though she told me that, I did not really grasp what was happening. When the time came for him to go to crèche, Frederick changed. He stopped eating and communicating, and started to become aggressive. I took him to a doctor, who noted that my child was having a ‘condition’ and has to go for speech therapy at the Rehabilitation School at the time,” shared the mum.
Frederick started crèche in Les Mamelles, and every day, Mrs Gappy would enquire about her son. The school told her there was no issue. “But one teacher informed me that Frederick was not sitting in class and would not keep his clothes on. When other children were loud, he would run and hide under the table or go to the toilet. After he completed his two years in crèche, I was called in at the school, and they informed me that my child had to go to an Exceptional School. I categorically refused. Frederick was not handicapped nor mentally disturbed and I did not see why he had to go to that school.”
The family got an appointment with Dr Athanasius, and on that day, Mrs Gappy was so stressed that she got sick and could not accompany her son and husband. “Once seeing Frederick in her office, Dr Athanasius immediately figured out he was autistic and told us not to worry, stating he will be bright. She explained to Fred about the condition, and once the test was done, he was found 100 percent autistic.”
Whenever parents hear such news about their child's conditions, it comes as a shock at first. But Mrs Gappy did not let that pull her down. She started doing her own research, and with the help of her sister in Italy, she learned more about the different conditions of autism. Mrs Gappy went to the Ministry of Education and asked that her son spend an additional year in crèche, which was approved. This set a precedence because since Frederick’s case, many autistic children now spend three years in crèche. It is only if their condition is severe that they have to go to an Exceptional School.
Another challenge for the family was when he completed the 3 years of crèche; no teacher wanted to take Frederick in their class. “Every morning, we stood in the compound till 10am until one teacher, Letimie Coralie, and her colleague accepted to take him in their class. I decided to accompany him. After a proper consultation with ministry officials, I was permitted to stay with him daily. It paid off as Frederick started showing that he had the capacity to do well. The only issue was the adaptation period.”
To help with the adaptation phase, back home the family painted the different rooms with various colours and used flashcards to communicate with him. Even the living room was transformed into a class, and they used lots of activities for his learning. Frederick completed his primary studies and also did his first communion and confirmation at the Cascade church. Frederick is a firm believer in Jesus and in his conversations, he would regularly refer to Him.
Magical moment…fish
As Frederick grew, he got bored easily, and his parents had to look for countless activities to keep him occupied; one of them was swimming, which he wanted to learn.
Mrs Gappy went to see several associations, but unfortunately, no one wanted to take him on board. She shared that Frederick enjoyed the sea and they used to take him to the beach every day after school when he was in crèche where he spent an hour in the water. Mrs Gappy shared it was when he was seven that she asked her husband to allow Frederick to tag along with them on one of their fishing trips. He started fishing straight away and it was his wish the following day also as he went directly to the boat as soon as he woke up.
“On Sunday when we went fishing he caught a fish and he suddenly shouted fish! I was shocked and started crying with all my heart. Since that moment he would say fish all the time. From then on, we went fishing every day, and Frederick started talking when he turned 8 and was able to join public school. Before that, Frederick would express himself through drawing. The sea was an enormous therapy, and we did that for three years.”
Frederick has participated in various swimming competitions in Mauritius, Dubai and other games. He also participated in training camps and won a silver medal in the last Indian Ocean Islands Games in 2023. He is proud of himself and told us he won R25,000 for that!
Autistic children are usually full of energy, and they need to be active constantly to drain that energy. The Gappy family had to look for an inclusive way of living. “When your child is autistic, everything they do differently is a victory for you. The family has to be supportive. It changes your life in a second, and you need to learn how to live with an autistic child. It is a constant battle,” shared Mrs Gappy.
At present, the family is trying to cope with the aftermath of the December 7 explosion, as they incurred losses to their home and Frederick has a lot of adaptation to do.
“Frederick feels lost and said he wants to run away. He is not sleeping at all at night which is a difficult time for all of us. He was shocked and thought it was an earthquake.”
Frederick has two siblings who are older than him; a brother and a sister. Since his birth life has taken a different turn for Mrs Gappy. She has always been a hands-on mother with her first two born when they were at school and the same routine continued with Frederick but with more intensity.
This year, Frederick will be in Secondary 5. “I am very much focused on what I do. I like expressing myself through poems and love swimming. I know I can be better in swimming and also I love playing video games. My favourite music are classics and I also spend time dancing. To the children with the same condition as me, I would say keep doing sports and keep studying and travay dir. We cannot just play games, we need to work also to feed ourselves.”
“My dream is to work for NASA. I want to explore the planets as the world is becoming a dangerous place. With all natural disasters, we might die sooner on this planet. I want people not to hate each other. You have to love and be loved. There are lots of things in the Universe and we need to love them all!” concluded the wise young man.
Vidya Gappy
Photos: Joena Meme and Claire Gappy
