“Don’t think that there’s a different, better child ‘hiding’ behind the autism. This is your child. Love the child in front of you. Encourage his strengths, celebrate his quirks, and improve his weaknesses, the way you would with any child. You may have to work harder on some of this, but that’s the goal.” – Claire Scovell LaZebnik

This is Abdul’s story, told by his mother, Aisha.

Abdul was carried full term with no complications. Between the ages of 4 and 5 months, he was sitting independently; at 7 months, he was crawling; and by 10 months, he was already walking. Everything looked and seemed so normal — until Abdul started school around the time he turned one.

When every other child in Abdul’s class was trying to say words and turning toward the sound of their names, Abdul wasn’t saying anything. He was just making sounds that didn’t quite form into words — he couldn’t even say Mama. That’s when I started to worry. I talked to his teacher about it, and she recommended I visit the doctor who had seen her daughter at the Jahmale Clinic here in Liberia.

On the day of the appointment, the doctor asked a series of questions, and I answered as best as I could. She then suggested we see Dr. Marbel, a certified neuro-paediatrician in Ghana. She gave us her contact details and forwarded a copy of Abdul’s evaluation report to Dr. Marbel at Mission Paediatrics.

We had planned the trip for March 2020, but COVID and the lockdown changed a lot of things for us. We were finally able to make it to Ghana in October 2020. Dr. Marbel had us run a few tests alongside Abdul’s evaluation. All of his results came back clean.

“I’m NEVER gonna forget the day we received Abdul’s diagnosis. I felt like the whole world had turned against me. I knew nothing about autism at the time, but Dr. Marbel was really helpful”, — she encouraged us and gave us something to hold on to. “Look, autism is not a disability,” she said. “It’s just a diagnosis, and your child is only 2 years and 11 months old. Once you start therapy now, before he turns 18 or 20, you’ll see — he’ll be very okay.”

Dr. Marbel introduced us to ENNY Foundation. After we spoke with Mr. Emmanuel Nyarko, we made our way back to Ghana and finally met him in person on Monday, December 14th, 2020. He was so helpful — the kind of helpful you don’t always expect from people. We don’t often anticipate someone going beyond just their role, but that’s exactly what he did. When we decided I would stay in Ghana for Abdul’s therapy, Mr. Nyarko helped us find a place to stay and made sure we had everything we needed to be comfortable.

Before therapy, Abdul had no language, no communication, and no social or play skills. He was mostly just making sounds — “aaaaaaaaaaa…” — and when his teacher back in Liberia tried to get him to say Mama, he’d repeat “mamamamama…” Sometimes he pointed at things he wanted, especially when it came to food.

During therapy, Abdul started to grow — not just in language and communication, but in his social skills and behaviour too. He became more settled, more responsible, and somehow more mature. Things like waking up and screaming for no reason — that stopped during therapy.

Abdul’s intensive therapy ran for 6 months in Ghana before we headed back to Liberia. Kofi, one of the facilitators, came along with us to support Abdul through his transition back to school. Today, Abdul’s teachers are amazed at how bright and capable he is. I’ll be honest — I can only sit with him to work on reading and vocabulary on Wednesdays, the one day we get home early enough.

These days, Abdul puts together full sentences — things like “Mama, go outside” when he wants to step out. I sit back sometimes and just think about the journey, and I’m so grateful for how far he’s come. I catch myself telling people around me, “Around this time last year, Abdul couldn’t do this or say that.”

My advice to any parent going through this: when you get your child’s diagnosis, DO NOT LIVE IN DENIAL. Your child being autistic does not mean they can’t become that engineer, lawyer, doctor — whatever you’ve dreamed for them. The only thing standing in the way is refusing to accept the diagnosis and get early help. Don’t wait until it’s too late. God never gives us more than we can carry.

With a heart full of emotion, I want to thank God first — and then say the biggest thank you to Mr. Emmanuel Nyarko and everyone at the foundation for being part of Abdul’s journey. At four years old, he’s reading, he’s writing, and he’s doing wonderfully in school. As I sit here writing this, I’m watching a video of an autistic adult who is just now learning to read and write — and it hits me all over again just how blessed we truly are.