By Badreddine Aitlekhoui
Rabat - In Morocco, autism is still considered a topic best discussed away from the public arena. Some people say that is a handicap, while others claim that is an illness. The fact is that it is neither an illness nor a handicap, but a spectrum.
Autistic persons suffer from many obstacles that inhibit their acceptance as citizens. The first obstacle is the absence of a state health care policy that can alleviate the expenses of medical treatments and therapies that the parents of autistic persons must pay every month; the cost of medical care can be over MAD 5000 per month.
The second obstacle is the integration of autistic children in the educational system. These children remain limited to a small number of classrooms opened in public schools, and are led by local associations. Consequently, the third obstacle is the shortage of qualified personnel working in this field, an outcome of the absence of the state's willingness to invest in the training and certification of qualified persons to fill this shortage.
Culturally speaking, autism is rarely mentioned in the press and different mass media networks, except for some annual articles published on the 2nd of April to celebrate the international day of autism. As a father of an autistic boy, as well as a writer and vigorous advocate for the rights of autistic persons in Morocco, I published a testimonial book called: Momo je m'appelle. Autiste je suis (My name is Momo. I am autistic).
My first book is based on our real story as parents of an autistic boy, narrated by Momo. This story tells of how the whole family was engaged in an adventurous trip towards acceptance, finding solutions to the difficult emotional and financial situations they faced.
It is a trip through the universe of autism in Morocco, and how parents and society view it. My book is a simple and a modest contribution to spread awareness and inform the reader to the realities of autism in Morocco.
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