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Autism Superhero Palestine is a non-profit organization that serves families and individuals living on the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Palestine.
Let us tell you how this initiative started!
On January 3, 2019, we turned our initiative to a registered nonprofit organization to serve autistic children in the Palestine after we realized the importance of spreading awareness on ASD as the number of children diagnosed with autism in Palestine is on the rise. We also did a situational comparison - while children in the United States, for example, receive all the assistance required in terms of early childhood intervention, education, accurate diagnosis, and healthcare insurance, Palestinian children are deprived of any of the previously mentioned services for a multitude of reasons:
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Weak infrastructure and lack of funding regarding special education and the poor economic situation in Palestine. As a result, the government cannot support families of special needs individuals.
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Lack of specialized autism centers in Palestine.
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Lack of specialized experts and the lack of adequate training.
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Autism Awareness in Palestine is below average.
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Increase of poverty levels throughout Palestine. Many families are unable to seek help because all services provided in the centers around the West Bank ask for advanced payment that is usually high in cost, while at the same time being low in the quality and lacking the necessary experience to assist children. Families try their best to support their children with one therapy session a week, which usually does not make any noticeable differences and can cause delays in the child's improvement.
Another side of the marginalization of children with autism in Palestine is that so far there are no official statistics on the number of children diagnosed with autism.
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This is why Autism Superhero Palestine is vitally important...
Autism Superhero Palestine is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. For the past three years, we have worked to support families, mothers, and children. We created many fun and therapeutic events for the kids and engaged kids with autism with other children to promote inclusion, acceptance, and understanding through art, music, and sports. We created training programs for families and children, family support group meetings, field trips, distributed autism awareness posters and brochures in public places, art therapy activities, equine-assisted therapy, and hydrotherapy in the West Bank. We also were able to distribute resources and learning tools especially that children with autism do not go to school and families feel lost and unsure about what to do to help their children. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we continued with our services following safety measures and protocol.
We have also worked closely with the special education department in the Palestinian education ministry to ensure the inclusion of students with autism within school classrooms. As a first step, we were able pressure the education ministry to pass a law that allows children with autism to attend school with a shadow teacher. However, many parents are still unable to pay the salary of a shadow teacher due to economic hardship, as a result, many autistic children are deprived their right to proper and special education. We are also working to include autism under the disabled healthcare insurance within the Palestinian ministry health system.
What kind of services do we provide?
Autism Superhero Palestine Aims to serve the following: Families, individuals with autism, and the community.
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We want to work with families and support them by:
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Holding workshops that include detailed explanations about the autism spectrum and how to deal with an autistic child within the family.
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Holding training workshops for parents to learn how to apply some ABA practices and occupational therapy and other important training programs and practice with their child through experienced specialists in this field.
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Holding regular meetings for families that include family support groups.
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Holding human rights workshops to explain the details of autism rights and how to claim them.
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Supporting families through therapy session activities to ease their stress and anxiety from raising a child on the spectrum.
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Training families on how to help a family member with autism through the different stages of life.
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Provide families with all the tools, resources, training programs required to assist their children.
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Support women's small projects - in specific- mothers of autistic children.
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We believe that mental healthcare of families is essential, and educating parents on autism is the key to helping their children.
As for children on the spectrum:
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Provide them with swimming courses (hydrotherapy).
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Animal assistant therapy.
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Drawing courses and music therapy.
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Engage them in events and activities with other children.
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Offer professional training programs for adults with autism.
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Provide children with tools required to help them develop their skills and reduce their sensory meltdowns.
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Distribute teaching aids to help children with learning.
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Hire 1-1 teacher to assist children with autism at school.
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Provide PECS communication books and tablets.
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As for our community awareness work, it will include the following:
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Wide awareness campaigns about autism through the community, especially schools where autistic children are enrolled.
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Claiming the rights of autistic children through the relevant ministries, such as the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Social Development.
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Distribution of posters and brochures containing information about the autism spectrum disorder in public places to help raise awareness.
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Autism awareness month walk and other events.
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​Offer training programs for shadow teachers working with children with autism.
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Continue with spreading awareness through social media, blogs, and ads.
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We believe that it takes a village to help a child with autism... And we must encourage the values of understanding, acceptance, and inclusion throughout our community.
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