Many Iraqi families with autistic children left to cope on their own

There are an estimated 200,000 cases among a population of nearly 40 million

A child with autism plays in a ball pit at the Parimala Neurodiagnostic and Rehabilitation Centre, in Bangalore, India, on the eve of World Autism Awareness Day. EPA

Instability in Iraq and a lack of government support are taking a toll on the well-being of people in the country with autism.

Parents are seeking special services for their children at private centres or have to cope on their own.

As is the case in many other countries in the world, autism in Iraq is on the rise, the general director of the state-run National Autism Centre, Dr Hussein Al Kaabai, told The National.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have enough governmental specialised centres in Iraq to diagnose and treat autism. There are only private ones scattered in different provinces without doctors who can diagnose,” Dr Al Kaabai said.

There are no official statistics, but Dr Al Kaabai estimates there are about 200,000 people with autism among a population of nearly 40 million.

The National Autism Centre, established in 2018, is the only such government-run centre in Iraq. It has five specialised doctors.

“This is not enough,” Dr Al Kaabai said. “This number is only a seed and a beginning; we aspire to grow to have a big specialised hospital and to follow other countries’ example in this regard.”

The centre receives an average of 30 children with suspected autism each day, but most suffer from other problems.

“Two to three per cent of those coming are diagnosed with autism,” Dr Al Kaabai said.

“Next, the doctor will give the family the treatment plan to guide them on how to deal with and train their children at home,” he added.

“We don’t have the capability to treat them.”

Autism spectrum disorders are a diverse group of conditions characterised by some degree of difficulty with social interaction and communication.

Other characteristics are atypical patterns of activity and behaviour, such as difficulty with transition from one activity to another, a focus on details and unusual reactions to sensations.

Symptoms can include repetitive speech or phrases, or oversensitivity to sound. Speech delays and learning difficulties are also among the symptoms.

About one in 100 children globally is believed to be autistic, according to the World Health Organisation.

The causes are still unknown, but WHO says that available scientific evidence suggests that there are probably many factors that make a child more likely to have autism, including environmental and genetic factors.

Treatment includes one-on-one behaviour therapy or training for parents to help enhance the child’s social skills.

For Shaima Al Hashimi, the mother of two autistic children, the government’s neglect of the autistic community is not the only challenge, but also bullying.

Ms Al Hashimi, 43, taught herself how to deal with and nurture her autistic children. She also launched the Autistic Iraq page on Instagram and Support Autistic Children in Iraq page on Facebook.

The pages document the daily life of her autistic children, Aya and Mohammed, and their creative talents. She also shares experiences and tips with other families.

“For many in our society, the autistic child is a crazy one,” she told an event last month to commemorate the International Women's Day in Baghdad.

“People sometimes chastise me when my child does a strange move in front of other children, thinking that they are spoilt, and keep their children away.

“Some say that I don’t need to spend hefty sums since they will not improve. I felt defeated many times.”

In spite of all that, “I started reading on autism and took part in workshops and applied some practices,” she said.

She plans to establish a non-profit organisation for autistic children and those with other conditions.

Dozens of private autism centres have been set up in Iraq, but many families say they cannot afford the fees.

Some are financed and supported by religious authorities, such as Al Rahma Centre in the southern city of Amara.

“There are 150 children diagnosed with different levels of autism spectrum receiving treatment in our centre,” Abdul-Rahman Atiya Ali, a doctor at the centre, told The National.

Dr Ali estimates that 40 out of every 1,000 children in Iraq have autism. It is mainly diagnosed among boys, with four cases for every one detected among girls.

The treatment programme is determined according to the level of autism the child has, and lasts from six months to more than a year, he said.

The monthly fee is ranges from 50,000 to 250,000 Iraqi dinars ($35 to $170), depending on the family’s income, he said. Treatment is free for orphans.