About
Cradle Lounge
Help is Our Main Goal
Cradle Lounge is a non-profit organisation set up to increase awareness, acceptance and inclusion for individuals with autism.
Although Autism can be diagnosed at any age, it is said to be a ‘developmental disorder’ because symptoms generally appear in the first two years of life. Diagnosis is done by clinical professionals using the DSM-5 guide.
Autism is known as a ‘spectrum’ disorder because there is a wide variation in the type and severity of symptoms people experience. NO TWO DIAGNOSIS OF AUTISM ARE THE SAME.
There is so much societal stigma and ignorance surrounding autism in Nigeria. Little is understood about autism and information and support services are hard to come by. Cradle Lounge was founded by Solape Azazi to demystify autism by increasing advocacy, awareness and knowledge on autism using media as one of the many tools to connect families to local services and providing one-to-one support through this NGO.
Cradle Lounge was founded by Solape Azazi to demystify autism by increasing advocacy, awareness and knowledge on autism using media as one of the many tools to connect families to local services and providing one-to-one support through the NGO. Solape Azazi is a mom of an autistic son diagnosed at age 3.
Our mission at Cradle Lounge is to create an enabling environment where individuals with ASD (and other related special needs) can be accepted for their uniqueness, breaking the barriers of societal stigma and thrive within Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
Our Team & Advisory Board
Solape Azazi
Solape Azazi is a certified special needs therapist and IBCCES certified Autism Specialist. I have participated in several trainings including Profiling Sensory Deficits in Developing Children, Sensory Processing and ASD, Emotional Regulation Strategies amongst others with the Autism Research Institute.
She is the Executive Director and Founder of Cradle Lounge Special Needs Initiatives, a Non-Governmental Organisation set up to advocate and empower caregivers of individuals with autism and other related special needs with tools required to provide an improved quality of life to these individuals; Cradle Lounge also provides a smart play approach to improving social play and interaction of individuals living with autism and their siblings through structured play, arts and group language therapy.
She has an extensive experience in HR Generalist affairs with expertise in employee relations as well as overall management skills including staff management and project leadership.
She is a wife and mother of 2 boys, one of whom was diagnosed with ASD at the age of 3.
Eniola Lahanmi
Eniola Lahanmi is a speech and language therapist who graduated from the University of Reading, UK with a Master’s degree in Speech and language therapy. She has extensive experience working with the pediatric population in a variety of settings including special schools, mainstream schools, hospitals as well as residential facilities.
Eniola has had the opportunity to work professionally with children with Developmental Delays, Down Syndrome, Autism, Hearing Loss, Auditory Processing Disorder, Language-Based Literacy Disorders, Fluency Disorders, and Articulation/Phonological Disorders Eniola works closely with children and their families to facilitate effective communication skill development and implementation. Eniola is a member of the Health and Care Professionals Council in the UK.
