Setting goals
Khawla Barley co-founded Goals UAE, keen to get her son Abdulla and other children interested in individual as well as group sport activities
Khawla’s son, Abdulla, was diagnosed with childhood autism when he was around three years old. The family was in the US at the time and Abdulla’s therapists at the Johns Hopkins hospital noted a change in his social interaction, and abnormal language development. ‘Abdulla had suffered severe hypoxia (lack of oxygen) and seizures just after his birth so it was difficult to determine if the problems were late development or autism,’ says Khawla.
But for a mother whose son was given a 4 per cent chance of living at birth and told that he would most likely not walk or talk, this was not the end of the road. ‘The fact he was able to communicate (even if in an abnormal manner) and had a personality was such a gift to me and I was ready to take on any challenge,’ she says.
Upon returning to Abu Dhabi in 2009, Khawla signed up for online applied behaviour analysis programmes. With the help of a friend who was a speech language pathologist, she turned a section of her house into a classroom. So while his two sisters attended regular school, Khawla scheduled activities to help him master tasks like brushing his teeth and communicating his needs through a laminated choice board.
At three and a half, Abdulla started attending the New England Center for Children Abu Dhabi, a school for children with autism based on the IEP (Individualised Education Program), and began mainstream school in grade three. ‘Now he is 11. He does very well in pattern-based subjects like spelling and math. He particularly loves to write, enjoys playing tennis and recently has discovered golf,’ says Khawla.
While Abdulla is extremely bright academically, he has trouble translating that knowledge. ‘He is not motivated by grades or typical achievements so it is difficult for him to complete work consistently. But when he is motivated he can move mountains.’
A case in point being the movie script he is working on. It has a horror theme and is 10 pages long with complex and well written dialogue. ‘However, Abdulla is very rigid in his thinking and has a hard time accepting and incorporating feedback, which makes channelling his skills challenging for his teachers and me,’ adds Khawla.
Goals UAE was launched as a pilot programme in November 2014 after Khawla could not find a suitable physical activity for Abdulla to enjoy. ‘I was concerned with my son’s long-term opportunities and not simply the need to keep him busy. I knew there were parent-led activities of all kinds in other countries so I wanted to see if the idea could be adapted to the UAE. Michelle [a co-founder of Goals] and I decided to try a one-off football programme to test the waters. We enlisted a few autism professionals as well as family members to ‘buddy’ with each of the participating children with autism,’ she recalls.
Goals opened to the wider community
‘I knew there were parent-led activities of all kinds in other countries so I wanted to see if Goals UAE could be adapted to the UAE’
in January 2015. Since then, it provides real opportunities and access to proper instruction for all ability levels and ages. Over the years, the programme has made a significant contribution by bridging the gap between the community and children with autism by providing the support to accommodate the kids in team as well as individual sports. As Khawla asserts, it is easier to integrate a young child into a recreational programme then an adult into a vocational programme. ‘Our triathlon programme called TriGoals is creating a lot of awareness through the inclusion of our team into community races. The boys run alongside typically developing athletes. We are getting a lot of positive encouragement.
‘I am extremely proud to be working closely with the newly reorganised Special Olympics UAE in a number of sports. I’m also excited to see what opportunities the current level of awareness associated with the event will bring to the UAE. I think we have an amazing opportunity to create lasting change,’ says Khawla.
For more information, goalsuae.com