These days, not a day goes by without a refugee crisis in the headlines. From the fall of the Afghan government to the war in Ukraine to the protracted conflict in Syria, the number of refugees is growing every day. Losing our homes, livelihoods, and communities all at once is unfathomable to most of us. Now, imagine losing everything you have while raising a child with a developmental disability who requires your constant support and attention. This is the experience of most of the families A Global Voice for Autism serves.
Established in 2012, A Global Voice for Autism is a volunteer-driven international non-profit organization that equips refugee and conflict-affected communities to support and include children with autism and developmental disabilities in their classrooms, homes, and communities. With programming in fourteen communities, as well as virtual support for refugee families around the world, the organization has been a lifeline for many families who have nowhere else to turn.
“The organization helped my family when we had nothing at all,” Matin, father of Hamid, age 6, an Afghan refugee in a European refugee camp shared. “My son was diagnosed with autism eight months before we left Afghanistan. We had just found support for him when we had to leave.” For the past two months, A Global Voice for Autism has coached Hamid to help him support his son through their daily life in the camp. “I see Hamid getting better. He’s calmer now that I’ve started using these strategies with him. He’s still not the same as he was back home, but he doesn’t bite his mother as often and when I speak to him, he’s started to respond again.”
Matin and Hamid take part in A Global Voice for Autism’s virtual support program, which provides individualized coaching sessions to families. Every virtual session looks slightly different, depending on the needs of the family. Some parents come to sessions with a list of skills they want their children to develop. Other families sign up for sessions primarily for affirmation and support. The team focuses on providing families with what they need when they need it.
“We partner with families on their journeys,” said Ramallah-based Director of Translation & Interpretation, Omar Kittani, who has been with A Global Voice for Autism since 2015. “For many families we support, autism is the least of their challenges. They might not know how they will pay their rent next month, where their next meal is coming from, or if their families back home lived through the night. We let the families lead us and provide them with the support they need to help them achieve their goals.”
The COVID-19 pandemic was particularly difficult for families of children on the autism spectrum, and those challenges have been exacerbated in refugee contexts. However, some families have experienced unexpected benefits.
“When A Global Voice for Autism ran a program in my community in 2018, my husband did not allow me to attend because he didn’t want anyone in our village to know our son had a disability,” Haya*, mother of eight-year-old Husam* said. “However, when 
the virtual program started at the beginning of the pandemic, I signed up for sessions in secret. I learned how to encourage my son to communicate with me and to create opportunities for him to use words throughout the day. My son used to hit me when I didn’t give him what he wanted, but I didn’t know what he wanted because he barely spoke. Now, he tells me what he wants. My husband still thinks it’s because he ‘grew out of’ his disability, and I’ll let him continue to believe that, but I know it was my work with him and my sessions with the Global Voice trainers that made the difference.”
While A Global Voice for Autism’s virtual programs will continue, the organization also re-introduced in-person programming in some of the communities they serve. April 2022 saw the launch of the organization’s first hybrid training program, during which families gathered in a community location to participate in virtual sessions with autism and inclusive education professionals. Please consider supporting A Global Voice for Autism’s virtual and community-based work by making a tax-deductible donation here.
