THE TALE OF THE AUTISTIC TWINS

THE TALE OF THE AUTISTIC TWINS

If we rightly channel the energy and passion of autistic kids, they can reach the sky: Farheen Hussain, Senior Consultant at Future Experts Kindergarten

I once encountered the case of autistic twins – 7-year-old boys named *Qasim and *Qadir. It didn’t take much time for the school management to notice they were given no care or attention at home. The mother had no concern for the children and it was evident in their behavior and overall personalities. We decided to call the parents in – of course, only the father showed up.

It turned out, the mother was unable to accept the children and their disability. The father was playing the role of both parents and was exhausted. Qasim and Qadir also had eczema which meant they needed to be taken care of even more – dermatologist appointments, application of appropriate ointments, daily oil massages, etc. Nothing was being done – the father was only able to do so much.

The kids didn’t know any better – they were autistic plus they had eczema and no one was really looking after them.

Ultimately, the parents got divorced. Not only were the twins autistic, they were also now children of a broken home. What hit me most was how would a second mother come and take care of them when a real mother couldn’t?

I cannot even tell you how smart they were. If only someone had taken the time out to train them and get them the right treatment…

They would never make eye contact with anyone. In class, they would sit in a corner and do their own thing. You would think they aren’t paying attention to what the teacher was teaching, but they were.

I once witnessed a teacher showing the class how to write a three-letter word and Qasim seemed unfocused. When the teacher left, I went to see what he was doing in a corner with his book. There was a price tag behind it and some text which he was reading out to himself. It’s amazing how well his senses worked.

This is why it’s so important to train autistic children. If we rightly channel the energy and passion of these kids, they can reach the sky.

*Names have been changed to protect the identity of the subject.