Emma eased Kojo away to the adjoining office, shutting the door behind her with a foot and moving to a corner of the room. She sat on the floor and he followed. It was quieter and darker in here than outside and Emma hoped decreasing visual and auditory stimulation would help. After about five minutes, he was less active, rocking only slightly, but his eyes were still far away, lost in that world of his that no one else could enter.

“Better?” Emma said softly.

She didn’t expect a verbal response because Kojo was nonverbal and had never uttered a sound beyond an indistinct moan. They sat quietly together awhile as Emma reflected that while Kojo and the other Autism Spectrum Disorder children at the center were blessed to have this safe place, they were but a tiny proportion of ASD Ghanaians in need. And Rose operated on a shoestring budget, depending on donations and volunteers. She seemed to be constantly on the verge of having to close down, but something or someone always came along to rescue her at the last minute. One of those saviors was Josephine Akrofi, the IGP’s wife. Mrs. Akrofi was the Center’s strongest patron.

Kojo was much calmer now, so Emma took him back to the outer room.

Rose looked at her with a smile. “I knew you could do it. He loves you, that boy.”

After Kojo was settled on the floor with a picture book, Emma sat beside Rose at the table in the center of the room.

“I have some exciting news,” Rose said. “I wanted to make sure it would happen first, and now it looks like it will.”

“Oh, really! I can’t wait to hear.”

“As you probably know,” Rose began, “there’s research suggesting that some autistic kids do well interacting with screen images. The topic is a little controversial, but some nonverbal children are able indicate their needs using mobile apps—like on a tablet, for example. And the ability to express themselves relieves them of a lot of frustration.”

Emma nodded. “Yes, I’ve read something about that.”

“So,” Rose said slowly, enjoying the suspense she was creating, “I asked Madame Akrofi if she could help the Center acquire a tablet we can try on some of our kids. Guess what? She did even better than that. She got us four tablets.”

“That’s wonderful!” Emma exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

“Yes, it is,” Rose said, elated. “So, what we plan is a ceremony later this week at which Mrs. Akrofi will be presenting us with the gifts. She’s arranging for some newspaper and TV press so that we can highlight the Center and use the opportunity for not only publicity, but education of the public as well.”

“That will be great,” Emma said. “I’m eager to see what Kojo does with the tablets.”

“Me too,” Rose said. Her demeanor changed to grave. “This year, we have to be very aggressive about raising funds. The lease on the property is up in fourteen months, and if I don’t pay the landlord, we’re going to be out.”