A mother of autistic twins spoke of her joy after a Dubai health clinic chief stepped in to offer support after hearing about her financial challenges.
Ambreen Suhaib, 35, told The National last month how she and her husband, who live in Dubai, spend more than Dh300,000 ($81,600) a year to provide the best possible care for their nine-year-old boys, Ahmed and Hadi.
She called for insurance cover for vital therapies to be made more widely available to parents.
Her views echoed those of Mohammed Al Emadi, director of Dubai Autism Centre, who in March said insurance companies should be mandated to provide cover for key autism treatment to ease the financial burden on families.
Aviv Clinics Dubai will assist the family through its Aviv Cares initiative, which includes a three-day evaluation for children aged between 4 and 18 with neurological conditions such as autism, as well as cerebral palsy, strokes and traumatic brain injuries.
The assessments look at cognitive and physical abilities using a range of tests, including advanced brain imaging tests, to identify the root cause of the child's condition and determine suitable treatment options.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, neurocognitive training, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy are core components of subsequent treatment, which is delivered free to those children found to be eligible.
Lifeline for family
Ahmed and Hadi will be evaluated under the programme.
“It's going to be a huge financial and emotional relief for us,” Ms Suhaib said.
“Getting such detailed assessments by professionals requires a hefty amount of money, which obviously is a lot of pressure when you have multiple children with a condition,” she said.
She is grateful that her children will benefit from further medical expertise.
“The procedure at Aviv Clinics is really detailed and they are very precise,” she said.
“After the assessment, they will let us know if oxygen therapy can help our twins or not. We are humbled beyond words for this help.”
The clinic has so far identified 16 children eligible for treatment.
“We saw The National’s article on Ahmed and Hadi and felt we could support them. So the goal is to give back, and to continue to work for insurance cover to make this into a more inclusive society,” said Craig Cook, chief executive of Aviv Clinics.
“I say this not only as the CEO of the clinic but as a parent of a non-neurotypical child myself.
“The key is to correctly diagnose the child, and for that we have a dedicated paediatric and youth team."
An in-depth analysis will follow the assessments, then results are shared with parents before an individualised programme for each child is designed around the results.
“It’s a unique protocol that combines hyperbaric oxygen therapy with tailored cognitive training and other adjunct therapies.
“It has shown promising results for individuals with autism and cerebral palsy,” Mr Cook said.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurised chamber, which increases oxygen levels in the blood and brain.
Aviv said the value of individual treatment programmes can be up to Dh200,000, with patients typically seeing results within three months.
What is autism?
Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition affecting verbal and non-verbal communication, social interaction and behaviour.
About one in 100 children globally are believed to be on the autism spectrum, the World Health Organisation says.
In April 2021, the UAE cabinet approved the National Policy for People with Autism.
It set out ways to provide people with autism with easy access to services, to ensure their inclusion in education and wider society and to train more qualified professionals while bolstering community awareness.
Mother's inclusive vision
Ahmed and Hadi were found to have moderate to severe autism after a diagnosis in 2017.
Since the diagnosis, Ms Suhaib and her husband have spent a fortune on care centres – moving their children from one to another in search of the best support.
They tried to secure insurance for the cost of treatment but were told the therapies their children need almost every day are not covered.
“The financial aspect of autism is the most draining and frustrating part for a parent, because the only therapies that can help your children are not covered,” she previously told The National.
Ms Suhaib also believes more work must still be done to create a more inclusive society for those with autism, as there remains a lack of understanding and acceptance.
“Inclusion is considered a favour, not a right, for autistic children and much work is needed for that,” she said.
She called for more awareness campaigns to help better integrate people with autism into everyday life.
MATCH INFO
Day 1 at Mount Maunganui
England 241-4
Denly 74, Stokes 67 not out, De Grandhomme 2-28
New Zealand
Yet to bat
MADAME%20WEB
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Messi at the Copa America
2007 – lost 3-0 to Brazil in the final
2011 – lost to Uruguay on penalties in the quarter-finals
2015 – lost to Chile on penalties in the final
2016 – lost to Chile on penalties in the final
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20HyveGeo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abdulaziz%20bin%20Redha%2C%20Dr%20Samsurin%20Welch%2C%20Eva%20Morales%20and%20Dr%20Harjit%20Singh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECambridge%20and%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESustainability%20%26amp%3B%20Environment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24200%2C000%20plus%20undisclosed%20grant%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVenture%20capital%20and%20government%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Location: Southport, Merseyside, England
Established: 1889
Type: Private
Total holes: 18
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
RESULTS
Bantamweight: Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) beat Hamza Bougamza (MAR)
Catchweight 67kg: Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) beat Fouad Mesdari (ALG)
Lightweight: Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) beat Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)
Catchweight 73kg: Mosatafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) beat Yazid Chouchane (ALG)
Middleweight: Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) beat Badreddine Diani (MAR)
Catchweight 78KG: Rashed Dawood (UAE) beat Adnan Bushashy (ALG)
Middleweight: Sallah-Eddine Dekhissi (MAR) beat Abdel Enam (EGY)
Catchweight 65kg: Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG) beat Rachid Hazoume (MAR)
Lightweight: Mohammed Yahya (UAE) beat Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 79kg: Souhil Tahiri (ALG) beat Omar Hussein (PAL)
Middleweight: Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Laid Zerhouni (ALG)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
if you go
The flights
Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes.
The car
Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals (more at www.hertz.com/etihad). A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.
The hotels
Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes.
More info
To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com
Fixtures
Opening day Premier League fixtures for August 9-11
August 9
Liverpool v Norwich 11pm
August 10
West Ham v Man City 3.30pm
Bournemouth v Sheffield Utd 6pm
Burnley v Southampton 6pm
C Palace v Everton 6pm
Leicester v Wolves 6pm
Watford v Brighton 6pm
Tottenham v Aston Villa 8.30pm
August 11
Newcastle v Arsenal 5pm
Man United v Chelsea 7.30pm
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Non-oil%20trade
%3Cp%3ENon-oil%20trade%20between%20the%20UAE%20and%20Japan%20grew%20by%2034%20per%20cent%20over%20the%20past%20two%20years%2C%20according%20to%20data%20from%20the%20Federal%20Competitiveness%20and%20Statistics%20Centre.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%2010%20years%2C%20it%20has%20reached%20a%20total%20of%20Dh524.4%20billion.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ECars%20topped%20the%20list%20of%20the%20top%20five%20commodities%20re-exported%20to%20Japan%20in%202022%2C%20with%20a%20value%20of%20Dh1.3%20billion.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EJewellery%20and%20ornaments%20amounted%20to%20Dh150%20million%20while%20precious%20metal%20scraps%20amounted%20to%20Dh105%20million.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERaw%20aluminium%20was%20ranked%20first%20among%20the%20top%20five%20commodities%20exported%20to%20Japan.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETop%20of%20the%20list%20of%20commodities%20imported%20from%20Japan%20in%202022%20was%20cars%2C%20with%20a%20value%20of%20Dh20.08%20billion.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas
Three stars
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The biog
Name: Mariam Ketait
Emirate: Dubai
Hobbies: I enjoy travelling, experiencing new things, painting, reading, flying, and the French language
Favourite quote: "Be the change you wish to see" - unknown
Favourite activity: Connecting with different cultures
FOOTBALL TEST
Team X 1 Team Y 0
Scorers
Red card
Man of the Match
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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MATCH DETAILS
Juventus 2 (Bonucci 36, Ronaldo 90 6)
Genoa 1 (Kouame 40)
