Joy for mother of autistic twins as Dubai clinic offers help
The mother of autistic twins has spoken of her joy after a Dubai health clinic chief stepped in to offer support after hearing about her financial challenges.
Ambreen Suhaib, 35, told The National last month how she and her husband, who live in Dubai, spend more than Dh300,000 ($81,600) a year to provide the best possible care for their nine-year-old boys, Ahmed and Hadi. She called for insurance cover for vital therapies to be made more widely available to parents of children with autism.
In March, Mohammed Al Emadi, director of Dubai Autism Centre, said insurance companies should provide cover for key autism treatment to ease the financial burden on families.
Aviv Clinics Dubai has offered to assist Ms Suhaib and her family through its Aviv Cares initiative. The programme features a three-day evaluation for children aged between four and 18 with neurological conditions such as autism, as well as cerebral palsy, strokes and traumatic brain injuries.
The assessments look at cognitive and physical abilities using a range of tests, including advanced brain imaging, in a bid to identify the root cause of the child’s condition and determine suitable treatment.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, neurocognitive training, occupational therapy and physiotherapy are core components of subsequent Aviv treatment, delivered free to those children found to be eligible.
Ahmed and Hadi will be evaluated under the programme.
“It’s going to be a huge financial and emotional relief for us,” Ms Suhaib said.
“Getting such detailed assessments by professionals requires a hefty amount of money – which obviously is a lot of pressure when you have multiple children with a condition.”
Ms Suhaib is grateful that her children will benefit from further medical expertise. “After the assessment, they will let us know if oxygen therapy can help our twins or not.
“We are humbled beyond words for this help.”
The clinic has identified 16 children eligible for treatment.
Craig Cook, chief executive of Aviv Clinics, said he learnt of Ms Suhaib’s situation from The National article.
“We saw The National’s article on Ahmed and Hadi and we
felt we could support them. So the goal is to give back, and to continue to work for insurance cover to make this into a more inclusive society,” said Craig Cook, chief executive of Aviv Clinics.
“I say this not only as CEO of the clinic but as a parent of a non-neurotypical child.
“The key is to correctly diagnose the child, and for that we have a dedicated paediatric and youth team.”
Following assessment, individualised treatment involves “a unique protocol that combines hyperbaric oxygen therapy with tailored cognitive training and other adjunct therapies”, said Mr Cook.
It has shown promising results for those with autism and cerebral palsy, he said.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurised chamber, which increases oxygen levels in the blood and brain.
Aviv said the value of individual treatment programmes can be up to Dh200,000, with patients typically seeing results within three months.
Ahmed and Hadi were found to have moderate to severe autism after a diagnosis in 2017.
Ms Suhaib says more work must still be done to create a more inclusive society for those with autism, as there remains a lack of understanding and acceptance. She has called for more awareness campaigns.
Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition affecting verbal and non-verbal communication, social interaction and behaviour.
About one in 100 children are believed to be on the autism spectrum, the World Health Organisation says.