Born: 1991
Financial adoption: Ank Broeders, The Netherlands; N.N. Germany

Koo Ema  was born around 1991 in Techiman Hospital. He came to PCC in 1997 from Osu Children’s Home. His mother was known but she was mentally ill and disappeared from his life soon after his birth. Koo Ema is autistic and frequently can be seen carrying out many stereotypical behaviours known as stimming, such as hand flapping and rocking from side to side. This is especially true when there is music that he enjoys. It took Koo Ema a considerable amount of time to settle into our community. Initially he seemed quite scared of the other children and young people and he could become aggressive. However over the years he has begun to find his place in our community and though he still has no speech he will sometimes look for interaction in the form of a greeting. Ema does respond well to music and will clap and sing in his own way.  He enjoys looking at a book though we are not sure what he really makes of what is on the pages.  He will go to collect his own dinner and sit and eat it.  He will also get dinner for one of the other young men he is very familiar with. Like many people with autism he often wants to examine things by touch and smell before he trusts it is OK to eat. The continuity and predictable structure at Hand in Hand have really helped Ema to find his place and he is now so much more contented than when he first arrived.