what does uncertainty mean to you not
knowing what’s going to happen next not
being understood not knowing what the
future holds for you as a child but also
seen the same for your own children
a feeling of Amber addict ability at the
age of five civil war torn my country
apart my childhood was spent running
from one country to another I never had
the chance to explore the world around
me
due to consistent uncertainty and
certainty in the form of well that I
would survive the raids tomorrow I never
had a real base which I struggle even
now sometimes to believe I have one I
play Mayan subtle life for not allowing
me build up trusted connection with the
world around me when I was 18 I had my
first child sack he was this beautiful
chubby boy who was the joy of my life
bought me so much happiness my mum was
over the moon that I bought a little boy
into the family finally I thought I had
everything I could ever wish for one day
I heard sac laughing to himself so I
went upstairs to see what he was
laughing at hoping to join with him when
I went into the room he was looking at
me but not looking at me something had
changed something was not right from
that point onwards he continued to
deteriorate lost the words he spoken no
eye contact and no engagement with
people it was like my child slowly taken
away from me without anyone believing me
imagine someone physically taking your
child and the trauma involved in my
mother tongue language there’s no word
for autism the closest word would be the
interpretation of someone being mentally
ill I could not accept that for my dear
little boy I felt that feeling I felt as
a child that feeling that I thought I
ran away from and left behind I hated it
it was that feeling of fear and
uncertainty again the age of two and a
half sack was diagnosed with severe
autism he display unusual and repetitive
behavior lack of empathy no awareness of
danger some of the characteristics of
autism
for the first time in my life I had to
meet a team of intimidating
professionals which I’ve never heard of
them before I had no context to
understand what was going on or who
these people were us these people don’t
exist in Somalia ultimately they had no
context to understand me there seemed
little consideration of the possible
cultural barriers they talk in terms
that were foreign to me they speak with
each other in the meeting as if I was
nobody
it felt like I was just there as a tick
box exercise mom was there when
decisions were made it was like I was
present but not present they barely knew
you Zack I was his mother and care for
him 24/7 but no in that environment I
was not the expert they knew best for
sac and so they made all the decisions
of what happened next I decided to speak
with my family about what happened with
the professionals and the respond was
what do Western doctors know about us
it’s different with us they don’t
understand us it was clear my family and
friends were thinking doctors refer to
him as though he was mentally ill so my
family didn’t want me to share any more
concerns about Zack with the
professionals on the outside world my
mother thought tried to reassure me look
at him he’s so handsome and the way he
gets long periods of times
thinks means he’s so intelligent and so
I should not worry bless her for being
so comforting if only she understood
autism nice turn things long period of
times means he’s very autistic I fell
stuck between two worlds the
professionals and my community neither
of which understood me and neither of
which and this dude’s AK stuck in the
middle which has become the title of my
book and it was here that I started us
and then me and Zack against
establishment and community struggling
to break free from a long-standing
culture special nude schools was not
working for Zack so I decided to take
things into my own hands and home
indicate Zack I had one goal what can I
do today to get closer to be independent
to lead a life with dignity expectations
and aspirations go a long way I discover
a home program schooling called applied
behavior analysis this approach involves
the applied use of behavioral principles
into everyday situations ABA was
combined with sensory processing
intervention the results were
life-changing Zack started to speak and
became aware of his surroundings but I
must point out
autistic people are very individual and
what works for them one does not work
for the other as a family we became
educators and the consistency between us
and the tutors made sac closer to be
independent every day I had to rise up
to the challenge I had given myself I
had to become educated to help me be an
informer later on a voice for Southeast
needs I had to do this in order to be
able to make decisions that I knew best
for sac instead of others making them
for me this was the battle against the
resistance on the cultural molding from
the people I belong to if changing sakis
life was my first mission working with
the wider community whose experience I
mirror my own has been my second
it was the disruptions in my life were
out of my control there was time for me
to disrupt in my own way
when I was told that had autism I felt
ashamed I was reaching out to my
cultural attitudes towards disability
but today I am proud of telling a story
that changed my life
and showed me second I can make it a
story that made me leave my loved ones
for an unknown culture and its people
I hope my transformative learning will
help others and
loved ones can stew their future
directions in similar circumstances
after being stuck in the middle for so
long I decided to dedicate to bean sack
his voice until he has a voice of his
own
I used my voice to demand appropriate
provisions for Zack I started to map the
progress he has made and then would make
decisions where the improvement was
needed or change of providers I realized
his potentials and started taking him to
different activities including aerial
climbing and gym
research shows different physical
exercises can gain specific mental gains
especially the autism community for Zack
the benefits were huge I then start
taking him to maths and English tuitions
and supermarkets he hated it was not
easy some days he would cope and some
days he will have a meltdown but with
planning visual structure and
perseverance with it he started to enjoy
every activity and became so good at it
as the famous Temple Grandin says people
with autism are different but not less
my fight back has been
to create community organization called
autism Independence which mentors
parents to engage with the system to get
the best outcome for their children to
ensure that services are integrated and
have high expectations and aspirations
for people with autism my second goal
for autism independence was to bridge
the gap between professionals and
parents this saw me carrying out
research a youth in theater to raise
awareness
a film by four women including myself
all with autistic children going out of
the house is a real problem we Yusef
when we go out to the street he can just
run off and it’s just not safe let me go
shopping he shouts and he screams when
people look at me they say why don’t I
discipline my child they just don’t
understand what can I do I don’t
understand are you saying there’s
something wrong with Yusef mrs. Abdi I
believe your son has a complex
neurological disorder called autism
autism what is autism I don’t understand
I never heard of autism before
ultimately my love for sac was greater
than my fear of any cultural protection
or community shame he taught me to dare
and disrupt in a positive way they said
my life on a new path and one I would
never have gone on to if it wasn’t for
Zack and one that took me to another
course
to be the first in my family to go to
higher education and prepare a PhD early
intervention is fico after a diagnosis
of autism parent involvement is
absolutely crucial however early
intervention can be very broad in 1997
Patricia holing a clinical psychologist
from st. George’s Hospital Medical
School in London and her colleague
carried out research with over 1200
parents with autistic children their
children range from 2 to 49 they steady
focus on parent fuze money many parents
reported falling into a black hole after
a diagnosis with minimal support in my
experience I was in danger for getting
stuck in that black hole it is the
vision of expectations that nourish the
independence of individuals with autism
and the independence that leads to the
first potentials and the rights of every
child under the UN CRC Convention every
school should have tailor intervention
for independence
despite the level of child development
and the same for the parents in the home
environment autism independence gives
families practical step-by-step
guidelines to everyday situations from
doing their shoelaces to using fork a
knife to take notes to school reception
to self-care and planning their day the
three
there help me get stuck where he is
today we’re understanding the autism and
the system support is it high
expectations focusing on the
independence in every level and
discipline myself and having a system to
evaluate monitor and be productive at
meetings there enables Aki’s development
my challenge is that we are our
children’s future and we are their voice
people told me sac would never talk but
today he shuts up girls in the local
climbing center and it’s a well-known
figure in where we live he used to have
all his decisions made for him today he
plans his day meals and activities it’s
gone beyond being able to speak he fair
prizes problems and comes up with the
most incredible creative solutions he
has learned he has a power of agency and
self efficacy he leads his own life and
makes his own choices he’s very happy
and fun to be with and he’s always
making people laugh his charm and
happiness it’s really really contagious
no more us than them now but a hero and
a role model it’s only fair sac has the
last day of my talk
[Music]
[Music]
you
knowing what’s going to happen next not
being understood not knowing what the
future holds for you as a child but also
seen the same for your own children
a feeling of Amber addict ability at the
age of five civil war torn my country
apart my childhood was spent running
from one country to another I never had
the chance to explore the world around
me
due to consistent uncertainty and
certainty in the form of well that I
would survive the raids tomorrow I never
had a real base which I struggle even
now sometimes to believe I have one I
play Mayan subtle life for not allowing
me build up trusted connection with the
world around me when I was 18 I had my
first child sack he was this beautiful
chubby boy who was the joy of my life
bought me so much happiness my mum was
over the moon that I bought a little boy
into the family finally I thought I had
everything I could ever wish for one day
I heard sac laughing to himself so I
went upstairs to see what he was
laughing at hoping to join with him when
I went into the room he was looking at
me but not looking at me something had
changed something was not right from
that point onwards he continued to
deteriorate lost the words he spoken no
eye contact and no engagement with
people it was like my child slowly taken
away from me without anyone believing me
imagine someone physically taking your
child and the trauma involved in my
mother tongue language there’s no word
for autism the closest word would be the
interpretation of someone being mentally
ill I could not accept that for my dear
little boy I felt that feeling I felt as
a child that feeling that I thought I
ran away from and left behind I hated it
it was that feeling of fear and
uncertainty again the age of two and a
half sack was diagnosed with severe
autism he display unusual and repetitive
behavior lack of empathy no awareness of
danger some of the characteristics of
autism
for the first time in my life I had to
meet a team of intimidating
professionals which I’ve never heard of
them before I had no context to
understand what was going on or who
these people were us these people don’t
exist in Somalia ultimately they had no
context to understand me there seemed
little consideration of the possible
cultural barriers they talk in terms
that were foreign to me they speak with
each other in the meeting as if I was
nobody
it felt like I was just there as a tick
box exercise mom was there when
decisions were made it was like I was
present but not present they barely knew
you Zack I was his mother and care for
him 24/7 but no in that environment I
was not the expert they knew best for
sac and so they made all the decisions
of what happened next I decided to speak
with my family about what happened with
the professionals and the respond was
what do Western doctors know about us
it’s different with us they don’t
understand us it was clear my family and
friends were thinking doctors refer to
him as though he was mentally ill so my
family didn’t want me to share any more
concerns about Zack with the
professionals on the outside world my
mother thought tried to reassure me look
at him he’s so handsome and the way he
gets long periods of times
thinks means he’s so intelligent and so
I should not worry bless her for being
so comforting if only she understood
autism nice turn things long period of
times means he’s very autistic I fell
stuck between two worlds the
professionals and my community neither
of which understood me and neither of
which and this dude’s AK stuck in the
middle which has become the title of my
book and it was here that I started us
and then me and Zack against
establishment and community struggling
to break free from a long-standing
culture special nude schools was not
working for Zack so I decided to take
things into my own hands and home
indicate Zack I had one goal what can I
do today to get closer to be independent
to lead a life with dignity expectations
and aspirations go a long way I discover
a home program schooling called applied
behavior analysis this approach involves
the applied use of behavioral principles
into everyday situations ABA was
combined with sensory processing
intervention the results were
life-changing Zack started to speak and
became aware of his surroundings but I
must point out
autistic people are very individual and
what works for them one does not work
for the other as a family we became
educators and the consistency between us
and the tutors made sac closer to be
independent every day I had to rise up
to the challenge I had given myself I
had to become educated to help me be an
informer later on a voice for Southeast
needs I had to do this in order to be
able to make decisions that I knew best
for sac instead of others making them
for me this was the battle against the
resistance on the cultural molding from
the people I belong to if changing sakis
life was my first mission working with
the wider community whose experience I
mirror my own has been my second
it was the disruptions in my life were
out of my control there was time for me
to disrupt in my own way
when I was told that had autism I felt
ashamed I was reaching out to my
cultural attitudes towards disability
but today I am proud of telling a story
that changed my life
and showed me second I can make it a
story that made me leave my loved ones
for an unknown culture and its people
I hope my transformative learning will
help others and
loved ones can stew their future
directions in similar circumstances
after being stuck in the middle for so
long I decided to dedicate to bean sack
his voice until he has a voice of his
own
I used my voice to demand appropriate
provisions for Zack I started to map the
progress he has made and then would make
decisions where the improvement was
needed or change of providers I realized
his potentials and started taking him to
different activities including aerial
climbing and gym
research shows different physical
exercises can gain specific mental gains
especially the autism community for Zack
the benefits were huge I then start
taking him to maths and English tuitions
and supermarkets he hated it was not
easy some days he would cope and some
days he will have a meltdown but with
planning visual structure and
perseverance with it he started to enjoy
every activity and became so good at it
as the famous Temple Grandin says people
with autism are different but not less
my fight back has been
to create community organization called
autism Independence which mentors
parents to engage with the system to get
the best outcome for their children to
ensure that services are integrated and
have high expectations and aspirations
for people with autism my second goal
for autism independence was to bridge
the gap between professionals and
parents this saw me carrying out
research a youth in theater to raise
awareness
a film by four women including myself
all with autistic children going out of
the house is a real problem we Yusef
when we go out to the street he can just
run off and it’s just not safe let me go
shopping he shouts and he screams when
people look at me they say why don’t I
discipline my child they just don’t
understand what can I do I don’t
understand are you saying there’s
something wrong with Yusef mrs. Abdi I
believe your son has a complex
neurological disorder called autism
autism what is autism I don’t understand
I never heard of autism before
ultimately my love for sac was greater
than my fear of any cultural protection
or community shame he taught me to dare
and disrupt in a positive way they said
my life on a new path and one I would
never have gone on to if it wasn’t for
Zack and one that took me to another
course
to be the first in my family to go to
higher education and prepare a PhD early
intervention is fico after a diagnosis
of autism parent involvement is
absolutely crucial however early
intervention can be very broad in 1997
Patricia holing a clinical psychologist
from st. George’s Hospital Medical
School in London and her colleague
carried out research with over 1200
parents with autistic children their
children range from 2 to 49 they steady
focus on parent fuze money many parents
reported falling into a black hole after
a diagnosis with minimal support in my
experience I was in danger for getting
stuck in that black hole it is the
vision of expectations that nourish the
independence of individuals with autism
and the independence that leads to the
first potentials and the rights of every
child under the UN CRC Convention every
school should have tailor intervention
for independence
despite the level of child development
and the same for the parents in the home
environment autism independence gives
families practical step-by-step
guidelines to everyday situations from
doing their shoelaces to using fork a
knife to take notes to school reception
to self-care and planning their day the
three
there help me get stuck where he is
today we’re understanding the autism and
the system support is it high
expectations focusing on the
independence in every level and
discipline myself and having a system to
evaluate monitor and be productive at
meetings there enables Aki’s development
my challenge is that we are our
children’s future and we are their voice
people told me sac would never talk but
today he shuts up girls in the local
climbing center and it’s a well-known
figure in where we live he used to have
all his decisions made for him today he
plans his day meals and activities it’s
gone beyond being able to speak he fair
prizes problems and comes up with the
most incredible creative solutions he
has learned he has a power of agency and
self efficacy he leads his own life and
makes his own choices he’s very happy
and fun to be with and he’s always
making people laugh his charm and
happiness it’s really really contagious
no more us than them now but a hero and
a role model it’s only fair sac has the
last day of my talk
[Music]
[Music]
you
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