A Mother’s Journey

My name is Hina Khan and I am from Hyderabad, Pakistan. I’m about to narrate a mother’s journey – my journey. My son, Muhammad Khan, was diagnosed with ASD when he was just eighteen months old.

I noticed that my son had stopped responding to his name and had begun to ignore social activities. He also started flapping his hands, which is when a doctor in my family recommended that we seek medical advice. After consulting with a neuro-psychologist, we were informed that our son had Autism.

At first, the term ‘Autism’ was completely unknown to me, and it was a painful time for both myself and my husband. However, we decided to take action and began therapies at the Aga Khan Hospital twice a month. They assured us that early intervention is helpful and our son would show improvement within a year. But after a year, we didn’t see any significant progress.

I then took it upon myself to begin online training and work with my son at home. However, the problem was finding a suitable school for him. I visited many schools, but none of them were equipped to handle a child with Autism. After explaining my son’s condition to one school, they gave us a three-day demo and agreed to provide a resource teacher. However, after admitting my son, I noticed that he was coming back tired, hungry, and thirsty. The school gave me a list of issues, but none of them were being addressed, and my son was losing valuable classroom time. This was a terrible experience for me as a parent.

After this, I decided to take matters into my own hands and start a school for parents like myself. Alhamdulillah, we opened ‘Destination School’ in Qasimabad, Hyderabad on December 5th, 2022. We work with therapists and special educators to provide all necessary therapies along with academics. Our aim is to prepare these children for mainstream education, and we are also working for charity to help those who cannot afford fees.

I am pleased with the response from parents, and Insha’Allah, we will continue on this journey and work towards achieving our goals.

About the Author: Hina Khan runs the Destination School in Hyderabad. She is also a mother of a child with Autism. 

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