No Help For Autistic Children In Baghdad

(CBS)  The ongoing instability in Iraq is taking a toll on the well-being of the very young. And, as CBS News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Lara Logan reports, parents who need special services for their children often have trouble finding it.

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Alli looks like any other toddler and until he was 18-months-old his single mom, Rahna Abdul, had no reason to think otherwise.

"Now, it seems as if he is in another world," Abdul said. "He is not with us.

That other world, Rahna believes, is autism. For the past year she's watched her son stop developing, stop talking and now at two-and-a-half he cannot do anything for himself. This once affectionate little boy shuns physical contact and prefers to be left for hours on his own.

"The hardest thing's that there isn't any connection between me and my child," Abdul said. "When I told him to talk to me, he doesn't have any response."

"I see him grow up in front of my eyes," she said. "But there isn't any progress in his mind."

The problem for autistic children in Iraq, Logan reports, is that almost nothing is known about this condition. Incredibly, the only doctor who did treat it, who founded a medical center in the name of his own autistic son, has fled the country. He left behind some social workers who try their best to help, but even they haven't been paid in four months. Rahna had to stop taking Alli there because the center is located in one of the most dangerous parts of Baghdad. And without the doctor it wasn't helping.

"I need a professional," Abdul said. "In order to recognize his state and in order to learn me how to practice with him."

Rahna knows there's no cure, but she and others believe there are many more autistic children in Iraq, who like Alli will never even have the chance to get treatment and she worries about his future.

"Who will take care of him if I die for example," Abdul wonders. "Maybe I go in the street out there and a bomb in my way, and I'll die. Especially in these situations, so who would take care of him? In his situation who would take care of him?"

[edadvocate]

Cjohara88 wrote:
"Perhaps Lara Logan and her producers could do a story examining the impact of abandonment on autistic children."

I don''t know about the abandonment rate but the divorce rate for families with autistic children is around 90% so I''m sure that the abandonment rate is up there, too.

[cjohara88]

It''s terrible to be a single parent with an autistic child; even worse to be a single parent with two autistic children whose father has run off to pursue his pleasures. Certainly to be a single parent with an autistic child living in a war zonoe is even worse. I can say categorically that finding help is nearly impossible no matter where you are. By conincidence I have spent the afternoon leaving pathetic voice mail messages at various doctor''s offices and hospitals begging for help for one of my sons. But, if the fathers of these children won''t help, who will? Perhaps Lara Logan and her producers could do a story examining the impact of abandonment on autistic children.

[edadvocate]

CBSfan73 wrote:
"I, like most every American, more than welcome you to use my tax dollars for assistance.

If you want to know the lack of of compassion comes from, you need look no further than Washington D.C."

I cannot get any government assistance as we make too much money. We pay $1,275 cash for therapies per month. My home mortgage isn''t that high. That is only for 8 hours/week of therapy. My son needs at least 25 hrs/week. My husband''s 2nd and 3rd jobs pay only for therapy. We don''t have new cars or new clothes. I was lucky I could buy my older boys (15 yo and 12 yo) new shoes for school at $10 each.

I am well aware that our "representatives" are part of the problem. I tried to appeal to mine and he is only interested if the media is watching. Once the cameras were turned off, he dropped me like a hot rock.

[cbsfan73]

To edadvocate:

I, like most every American, more than welcome you to use my tax dollars for assistance.

If you want to know the lack of of compassion comes from, you need look no further than Washington D.C.

[edadvocate]

MyOpinion1 wrote:
"Oh and I''''m sure his autism "appeared" after his MMR....right? RIGHT? No one does much for autistic kids in this country either. Welcome to the real world."

Actually, my son has a neurological speech condition called apraxia. It impacts speech so he has to learn how to speak because it affects motor planning/control. He has been to the Mayo Clinic for it. He was only diagnosed with autism after the school put him in the autistic classroom for 9 months just because he couldn''t speak at the rate they wanted him to. He had 5 words when he hit the school''s preschool at age 3. He had been tested for autism before going to school and tested in the non-autistic range. Now he is autistic after spending one school year in the autistic classroom. Coincidence?

[edadvocate]

CBSfan72 wrote:
"If you promise to breed less, I promise to get out more."

I won''t be having any more children as I could never chance this happening to another child. It is torture to watch this person suffering everyday. I work 60 hours a week on doing research, investigating programs, fighting the school district to provide services, finding doctors who don''t treat my child like he is a leper. Yes, they still tell people to put your child in an institution when it is not necessary if they receive the proper early intervention. Parents can''t possibly help multiple autistic children simultaneously and give each child their best effort.

[cbsfan73]

edadvocate suggested:
"You really need to get out more."

If you promise to breed less, I promise to get out more.

[cbsfan73]

"But I can''''t possibly fathom how difficult it would be to have my son in such a dangerous war ridden country without any hope of help or guidance."

So far, we have spent about 600 billion dollars on "guidance". The American people have sucked it up and did without to pay for this engagement. If there is any lack of compassion, it is not with Americans but rather their great leaders.

[cbsfan73]

chapnalli wrote:
"I am quite shocked and horrified at some of the comments. Have we come such a selfish society we cannot have compassion for a woman in this situation?? I''''ve seen very few if any compassionate responses."

We are a direct reflection of our conditioning. When our leaders no longer care for us, we no longer care for others.

[chapnalli]

I am quite shocked and horrified at some of the comments. Have we come such a selfish society we cannot have compassion for a woman in this situation?? I''ve seen very few if any compassionate responses. As a mother who also watched her child regress into autism I can relate to her feelings of fear of dying and who will take care of her son if she dies, the pain of not being able to have a conversation with him or get through to him. But I can''t possibly fathom how difficult it would be to have my son in such a dangerous war ridden country without any hope of help or guidance. This is a devistating story but it needs to be told obviously due to the ignorance and krass responses I''ve seen on here. Really sad.

And just for the record. Autism is a neurobiological disorder affecting the entire body and brain. Most often in the regressive form caused by toxic insult. It is treatable but only if you have access to information, treatment and testing. The fact that she has no access even to treatment or even educational tools is a travesty.