Autism Superhero Palestine is a non-profit organization located in Missouri, USA and serves the families living with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Palestine.

Let us tell you how this initiative started!

On January 3, 2019, three mothers created a Facebook page to speak about the reality of autistic children in Palestine after they 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, get 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:

1) Economic, educational, and civil blockade on the Palestinian government in West Bank and Gaza. As a result, the government cannot support families of special needs individuals. 

2) Lack of specialized autism centers in Palestine. The best autism center is located in the city of Jerusalem which is separated by apartheid walls from the Westbank, so families and children on the spectrum are not allowed to receive any type of support in Jerusalem because simply they are not allowed to go there. 

3) Lack of specialized experts and the lack of adequate training. 

4) Autism Awareness in Palestine is below average and as a result, many kids are left without any proper diagnosis and end up in mental institutions. Individuals on the spectrum are marginalized and some families feel ashamed to speak up about their children because of fear that society won't accept them.

5) Increase of poverty levels throughout Palestine. Many families are unable to seek help because all services provided in the centers around the West Bank and Gaza 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.

Through our Facebook page, we connected with over 300 families of children with autism in the West Bank and Gaza. We heard and shared many different stories of the lack of acceptance in our society, for instance, one school created an event and asked a family of an autistic girl to not bring her along with them to the event. We shared a story of a mother walking through checkpoints with her teenage autistic boy who almost got shot because the soldier decided he was suspicious and was forced to move to the end of the row because her son could not follow the soldier's orders. We are talking about children who live under military law, but do not understand it because of the lack of services they get to help them become much more aware of their surroundings and find ways to communicate with others. 

This is why Autism Superhero Palestine is vitally important...

After we realized the importance of our movement and after getting millions of comments, feedback, and collective engagement on our Facebook page, we decided to go down onto the streets and work directly with the people as a personal initiative. For the past year, we have used our savings to support families, mothers, and children. We created many fun events for the kids and engaged kids with autism to play with other children to promote acceptance and understanding. We created training programs for families, support group meetings, field trips, distributed autism awareness posters, art therapy activities, horse assisted therapy and hydrotherapy in both the West Bank and Gaza. All of this happened prior to Autism Superhero Palestine becoming a registered non-profit organization. After a huge successful movement, we were able to enroll 20 autistic children in school. 

We are growing fast, many families are joining, and as a result, we can no longer do this without further help. Currently, we need a suitable location to continue our services as we have been doing this without any assistance whatsoever. 

Our Plans for 2020

A) Providing a center for theِ Autism Superhero non-profit branch in Palestine in terms of location, tools, furniture, and other requirements to be our starting point to serve the Palestinian people.

B) We want to work with families and support them by:

 1. Holding workshops that include detailed explanations about the autism spectrum and how to deal with an autistic child within the family.

   2. Holding training workshops for parents to learn how to apply some ABA practices and occupational therapy at home to modify some undesired behaviors of their child through experienced specialists in this field.

   3. Holding regular meetings for families that include psychological counseling and brainstorming.

   4. Holding human rights workshops to explain the details of autism rights and how to claim them.

   5. Supporting families through therapy session activities to ease their stress and anxiety from raising a child on the spectrum. 

C) As for children on the spectrum:
1. Provide them with swimming courses (hydrotherapy).
2.  Horse assistant therapy.
3.  Drawing and music courses.
4.  Engage them in events and activities with other children.

D)As for our community awareness work, it will include the following:
1. Wide awareness campaigns about autism in schools, especially school where autistic children are enrolled.
2. 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.
3. Distribution of posters and brochures containing information about the autism spectrum disorder in public places to raise awareness.
5.  Autism awareness month walk and other events.

Take a look at our Facebook Page to have an idea of what we do:

https://www.facebook.com/AutismPalestine/​

Website: http://www.autismsuperpali.com

How can you HELP!
Please Donate or share our campaign!