Kabul center gives hope to families with autistic children

KABUL (Pajhwok): The ‘Kabul Speech Therapy and Rehabilitation Center’ is a place where dozens of children with autism, as well as adults experiencing speech problems after a stroke, receive training in cognitive games and speech skills.

According to doctors, autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects how individuals communicate, interact socially, behave, and learn. This disorder usually appears in early childhood (before the age of three) and remains with the individual for life. However, with timely diagnosis and professional intervention, the quality of life for people with autism can be significantly improved.

Such individuals face communication challenges such as the inability to initiate or maintain conversations, difficulty understanding body language or tone of voice, delayed speech development, or limited use of words.

They may also experience social difficulties such as challenges in interacting with peers, indifference or inappropriate responses to others’ emotions, and lack of interest in group games or friendships.

This center is dedicated to children with autism; currently, dozens of children are under care here, and teachers are striving to improve their condition.

Sayed Jamal Elham Hashimi, the founder of the ‘Kabul Speech Therapy and Rehabilitation Center,’ said in an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News that the center was established five years ago to support families with children diagnosed with autism.

He added that the center initially only served children with hearing impairments, distributing hearing aids to them. However, he started to question why a child who could hear still couldn’t speak, leading him to launch a speech therapy program.

He said, “In Afghanistan, understanding and educating families is a bit challenging. When a hearing aid is installed, families think the child should also be able to talk. Many still believe that if their child can hear, they should be able to speak.”

According to Hashimi, the center has recruited psychologists who have graduated from the Special Education program of the Faculty of Psychology to work in speech therapy and child rehabilitation.

This center for children with autism differs from typical educational institutions. In every classroom, you can hear teachers’ voices as they teach the basics of speech to these children.

Children who cannot speak or hear, and who also have behavioral challenges—both boys and girls—attend separate classes where they listen to their teachers. Sometimes they are attentive, and sometimes they get distracted.

Neelab Mohammadi, one of the psychologists who graduated from the Special Education program at Kabul Education University, told Pajhwok that currently, 120 children with autism are being cared for by 30 female instructors at the center.

She said the center includes departments for speech therapy, cognitive therapy, motor therapy, and auditory training classes.

As the center’s director, she noted that previously, such a facility did not exist in the country, and some families had to take their children abroad for treatment.

Mohammadi explained that treatment varies for each child: some may show improvement within a month, while others may need more time—sometimes even up to a year.

According to her, over the past five years, the center has had six graduating groups, and the children who graduated were introduced to public schools, where they are now studying in second and third grades.

She urged families of children with autism not to neglect treatment, emphasizing that earlier diagnosis meant quicker treatment.

Mohammadi added that the center also treats adults.

She explained: “Our center is not just for children. We also treat adults—those who, after a stroke, can no longer speak well despite having previously been able to speak. We help people who stutter, those who have difficulty pronouncing certain sounds, or those who lack self-confidence.”

Mother of one of the children

Fahima Stanikzai, whose one child out of three has autism, said: “I realized my child had autism while we were living temporarily in Japan.”

She continued: “My son was two years old at the time. I noticed he would spin around in circles, walk on his tiptoes, or, for example, didn’t respond when I called him. Based on articles I had read about autistic children, I suspected my child had autism. But unfortunately, we were only temporarily in Japan. When we returned to Afghanistan, we couldn’t find any centers for autistic children.”

However, she later saw an advertisement for the center on Facebook, and now her child is receiving treatment there.

She added: “I’m very happy such a center exists, because I’ve seen a lot of positive changes in my son—he’s improving day by day. Initially, my son had frequent temper tantrums, was very aggressive, and was extremely disorganized. He had no reaction to instructions we gave him.”

She continued: “But since I started bringing my child here, there have been many changes. He has become very organized, almost like a normal child—he understands more of what we say. He’s learned many things he didn’t know before. For example, he now puts his clothes neatly in his closet, arranges his shoes properly, dresses himself, and has learned a lot from here.”

We attempted to get comments from officials at the Ministry of Education regarding the number of autism treatment centers in the country, but despite repeated attempts, they did not respond.

sa/ma