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Muslim Americans Lack Autism Awareness

Are Muslim communities doing enough to raise awareness about autism?

BY AYA KHALIL

When Tunde Brazlik would pick up her daughter from Sunday Islamic school, people would tell her to leave her son, Amin, who is autistic, outside before entering the school.

            Brazlik stopped taking her daughter to the school. She discovered her now 10-year-old son had Autism Spectrum Disorder, a brain development disorder, when he was 14 months.

            “The Muslim community did not want to deal with him at any point of time,” said Brazlik, a nurse and special education teacher, adding that her main support system was people of the other faiths through whom she found lots of help and encouragement.

            “Many times Muslims looked down on me and my kids, and I was subjected to some very cruel, unreasonable questionings and comments,” she said.

            Brazlik started a blog, My Autistic Muslim Child (http://myautisticmuslimchild.com), to address such issues and communicate with similarly affected parents.

            Brazlik and her family moved to Saudi Arabia from Orlando about two years ago. The situation isn’t any easier there.

            “Being a Muslim country doesn’t make it better either, so it is not just the problem of Western Countries,” she said.

            In Saudi Arabia, Brazlik mostly lets her children play with children of other faiths so there is little chance of them being bullied because of Amin’s autism. Even if Muslim kids are understanding, their parents are not, she said.

            Brazlik said autism has such a stigma in the Muslim community because many do not understand the problem, she thinking that it’s a disciplinary issue that will go away, or they have some irrational ideas, or a sense of shame.

            Joanna Beituni, who works in the educational technology field in Washington D.C., is striving to get Muslim and Arab communities more involved with autism awareness. She started a team for the Walk Now Autism Speaks in Chicago, called Arabs Walk Now. This is her fourth year organizing it and the team’s goal is to raise $15,000 for autism research.

            Many people within Arab community lack knowledge which it comes to disabilities. Often mothers are blamed and people wonder if she did something wrong during her pregnancy or in bringing up her child.

            “A lot of times, it’s just brushed under the carpet,” Beituni said. “The Quran and hadith say that people with disability shouldn’t be shunned. Disabilities shouldn’t hold you back. Unfortunately, people mix culture with religion so they say things like, ‘we’re going to hide the child with disability because we want our other child to get married.”

            Beituni quoted what a speaker at the 50^th annual ISNA Convention said about disabilities: “Allah didn’t give us disability. He gave us a special ability.”

            Often parents don’t notice their child has autism until a professional points out the problem, said Itedal Shalabi, executive director and co-founder of Arab American Family Service (AAFS).

            “A lot of time people are uneducated about it and sometimes they don’t understand the signs going on,” she said.

            AAFS started training its staff after noticing an increase in the number of families with an autistic child.

            “It became quite a concern and we needed to address it,” Shalabi said. “So when the parents are here for other services, we will pay attention to the children.”

            Among the signs AAFS staff members look for in children are no eye contact, very little speaking, and being isolated from others.

            Shalabi said there is often a stigma when it comes to disabilities in Arab communities.

            “A lot of times the mom gets even more shunned [than the child],” she said. “There needs to be awareness campaigns, and if there’s a child with special needs, you don’t need make the mom and child segregated in the community. We need make the space of the mosque a haven for moms.”

            Waffiyah Muhammad, a special education teacher for 28 years in Newark, said there are several ways the Muslim community can help cater to children with autism.

            “The Muslim community can help make families living with autism feel more welcome by fostering acceptance and respect throughout the community and masjid by spreading autism awareness,” she said.

            At Masjid Ibrahim in Newark, Imam Mustafa El-Amin helps spread autism awareness in the community in several ways such as providing literature on autism, and hosting book giveaways with autism literature distributed along with school supplies and books.

            Celebrating Autism Awareness Month is another way the mosque spreads awareness. Another idea is to have a bulletin board display in the mosque lobby.

            Brazlik agreed raising awareness in the Muslim community is a must.

            “In the community we find a lot of prejudice [with] regards to so many things,” she said. “One of them [is] autism or other mental [disabilities]. I spoke with a lot of born Muslim families who are happy to be able to talk to me freely about their kids’ autism because they don’t have to worry about if I will talk behind their back, I will judge them, or make it impossible for their typical kids to get married into a good family.”

Find the clause

         1.      Sentence:

When Tunde Brazlik would pick up her daughter from Sunday Islamic school, people would tell her to leave her son, Amin, who is autistic, outside before entering the school.

Main Clause:

People would tell her to leave her son, Amin, outside before entering the school

Clause:
a.      When Tunde Brazlik would pick up her daughter from Sunday Islamic school
b.      Who is autistic

        2.      Sentence:

She discovered her now 10-year-old son had Autism Spectrum Disorder, a brain development disorder, when he was 14 months.

Main Clause:

She discovered her now 10-year-old son had Autism Spectrum Disorder, a brain development disorder

Clause:

When he was 14 months

        3.      Sentence:

A nurse and special education teacher, adding that her main support system was people of the other faiths through whom she found lots of help and encouragement.

Main Clause:

A nurse and special education teacher, adding that her main support system was people of the other faiths through

Clause:

Whom she found lots of help and encouragement

        4.      Sentence:

Many times Muslims looked down on me and my kids, and I was subjected to some very cruel, unreasonable questionings and comments.

Main Clause:

Many times Muslims looked down on me and my kids unreasonable questionings and comments

Clause:

And I was subjected to some very cruel

       5.      Sentence:

Being a Muslim country doesn’t make it better either, so it is not just the problem of Western Countries.

Main Clause:

Being a Muslim country doesn’t make it better either

Clause:

So it is not just the problem of Western Countries

       6.      Sentence:

In Saudi Arabia, Brazlik mostly lets her children play with children of other faiths so there is little chance of them being bullied because of Amin’s autism.

Main Clause:

In Saudi Arabia, Brazlik mostly lets her children play with children of other faiths so there is little chance of them being bullied

Clause:

Because of Amin’s autism

       7.      Sentence:

Even if Muslim kids are understanding, their parents are not, she said.

Main Clause:

Their parents are not, she said

Clause:

If Muslim kids are understanding

       8.      Sentence:

Brazlik said autism has such a stigma in the Muslim community because many do not understand the problem.

Main Clause:

Brazlik said autism has such a stigma in the Muslim community

Clause:

Because many do not understand the problem

       9.      Sentence:

Joanna Beituni, who works in the educational technology field in Washington D.C., is striving to get Muslim and Arab communities more involved with autism awareness.

Main Clause:

Joanna Beituni is striving to get Muslim and Arab communities more involved with autism awareness

Clause:

Who works in the educational technology field in Washington D.C

      10. Sentence:

Many people within Arab community lack knowledge which it comes to disabilities.

Main Clause:

Many people within Arab community lack knowledge

Clause:

Which it comes to disabilities

       11.  Sentence:

Often mothers are blamed and people wonder if she did something wrong during her pregnancy or in bringing up her child.

Main Clause:

Often mothers are blamed and people wonder

Clause:

If she did something wrong during her pregnancy or in bringing up her child

      12.  Sentence:

The Quran and hadith say that people with disability shouldn’t be shunned.

Main Clause:

The Quran and hadith say

Clause:

That people with disability shouldn’t be shunned

      13. Sentence:

We’re going to hide the child with disability because we want our other child to get married.

Main Clause:

We’re going to hide the child with disability

Clause:

Because we want our other child to get married

      14. Sentence:

Beituni quoted what a speaker at the 50^th annual ISNA Convention said about disabilities.

Main Clause:

Beituni quoted said about disabilities

Clause:

What a speaker at the 50^th annual ISNA Convention

       15. Sentence:

AAFS started training its staff after noticing an increase in the number of families with an autistic child.

Main Clause:

AAFS started training its staff

Clause:

Staff after noticing an increase in the number of families with an autistic child

       16. Sentence:

When the parents are here for other services, we will pay attention to the children.

Main Clause:

We will pay attention to the children.

Clause:

When the parents are here for other services

        17.  Sentence:

Shalabi said there is often a stigma when it comes to disabilities in Arab communities.

Main Clause:

Shalabi said there is often a stigma

Clause:

When it comes to disabilities in Arab communities

       18.  Sentence:

If there’s a child with special needs, you don’t need make the mom and child segregated in the community.

Main Clause:

You don’t need make the mom and child segregated in the community

Clause:

If there’s a child with special needs

       19.  Sentence:

I spoke with a lot of born Muslim families who are happy to be able to talk to me freely about their kids’ autism because they don’t have to worry about if I will talk behind their back, I will judge them, or make it impossible for their typical kids to get married into a good family.

Main Clause:

I spoke with a lot of born Muslim families, I will judge them, or make it impossible for their typical kids to get married into a good family

Clause:
a.      Who are happy to be able to talk to me freely about their kids’ autism
b.      Because they don’t have to worry
c.       If I will talk behind their back