All he wants is a decent life for his autistic son
abu dhabi — The father of an eight-year-old autistic child in Abu Dhabi is desperate to keep his son in a special needs centre, but has no financial means to do so.
Indian Abubaker K., 47, who lost his job last year, told Khaleej Times it would be tragic to pull his speech-impaired son, Yasin Abdul out of school. “We waited for more than three years to get an admission in the special needs school. I will never be able to find another such school for him considering the long waiting list at special needs schools,” said Abubaker.
Abubaker was working as a public relations officer for a legal firm in Abu Dhabi till March 2016 but was laid off when the company wound up its operations last year.
The father said Yasin was diagnosed with autism when he was three years old. “He was born as a premature baby. His head was deformed due to some birth complications. And he could not speak even at three years.” Doctors diagnosed him with mild autism, speech disability and ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity syndrome).
“Even at the age of eight, he is still not able to speak. He only makes noises to communicate,” he told Khaleej Times.
Due to the overwhelming demand at special needs schools in Abu Dhabi, Yasin had to wait till he turned six, to get enrolled. According to Abubaker, the boy is now responding well to therapy and is able to focus on certain tasks.
“Yasin is happy with the school. Moreover, he is receiving a big fee concession on humanitarian grounds.” Instead of Dh125,000, the parents said, they are paying only Dh50,000 as annual fee to the centre. But after losing his job, he said even that has become unaffordable, in addition to other living expenses.
“I cannot compromise on my son’s future. My only wish is that Yasin is able to continue with his therapy at the centre for a few more years till he can at least speak a few words,” said a desperate Abubaker. He said he had recently started working as a driver in Dubai and is getting a monthly salary of Dh5,000.