Mohammed, 9, is an autistic child who wants to go to school but is unable to because of the reluctance of schools to accept children with his condition.
“I have tried many times to enroll him since July but they did not accept him, and my complaint is not about the Ministry of Education because they facilitated and did everything, but the principals of the schools did not accept Mohammed,” Mahdiya Rahman, Mohammed’s mother, told Rudaw’s Payam Sarbast on Monday.
“Mohammed wakes up at 7 o'clock in the morning every day, watches other children going to school, and sometimes cries,” she said. “They have the right not to be deprived of education, and not to be cut off from society.”
Mohammed has been at an autism training center since he was three years old.
He was enrolled in a public school last year but then had to leave after falling ill. This year, Mohammed’s mother wanted to enroll him back in school again, and a signed official enrollment letter was provided to them by the Kurdistan Region's education ministry. They never received an acceptance.
“Any child with any autism symptoms, whether very severe or very weak, needs to attend school,” Rawasht Rashid, a doctor and supervisor of an autism center said.
After much effort by Rahman, she finally made Mohammed’s dream come true in mid-October. Two weeks ago, a public education school accepted him as a test. The school has nine other students, some with autism and some with disabilities.
“The first time we tested Mohammed whether he was suitable for him and for the school, it was fine, and there were no problems,” Shaima Tal'at, a teacher, said.
Some families have risked their lives by illegally migrating to Europe with the hope of obtaining better care for their autistic children there.
More than 3,000 people with autism in the Kurdistan Region have little assistance besides the 150,000 Iraqi dinars a few of them receive every month. No facilities or laws have been implemented either.
