By Nicholas Orland, MS, BCBA, LBA
Dubai Autism Center, Autism Program Head
Doctoral Candidate, Endicott College

Autism Awareness in the Middle EastAutism awareness month is usually associated with many events focused on offering information to community members about autism. It provides an opportunity to disseminate accurate information and to reduce barriers to community inclusion. It also presents a challenge to professionals, who need to match the information to their audiences. Succeeding in this goal is important; we are ambassadors in sharing high quality, accurate information about autism and its treatment. Further, it can be an important precedent to set for future leaders playing a key part in the awareness efforts.

In March of 2018, I was the Managing Director of an autism center in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Having lived in Dubai for 3 years prior, I was quite aware of the need for autism awareness initiatives. Autism is rife with misconceptions and misunderstandings in this part of the world, and I could see that educational efforts were desperately needed.

I voiced this concern to my CEO as autism awareness month was approaching. She was also quite keen on the idea, and to her credit, wanted our organization to be a huge part of the educational initiative. Her thought was that instead of focusing on educating teachers and adults (which was my original suggestion), we should focus on educating school age children ages 6-16. “Great” I thought, secretly thinking, “What poor sap will be conducting these trainings?” She suggested 20 schools in 30 days during autism awareness month (April). I thought it was a great idea. As I was suggesting what staff could present this information to schools, my CEO pointed her finger at me and said “I want you to do these presentations.”

I immediately thought of reasons why I couldn’t do this. I was far too busy running the center, I’m a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst and it is outside of my area of competence, I have no experience presenting to children, etc. I was grasping for anything I could think of to not do this. If I were honest, none of the reasons were legitimate for me not doing the trainings. Simply put, I was scared. Not of the training, but of my potential audience: children.

I had done (at that point in my career) over a hundred presentations on various themes related to autism and applied behavior analysis. I’d presented to crowds of over 300 with no concerns or stage fright. But the difference was that I had always presented to adults. Put me in that same room with the average age being 7 and not 40… I’m terrified. This was a huge step out of my comfort zone and I did not want to do it. Regardless, my CEO was persistent about me doing it so I accepted the challenge.

I created a short 7-minute presentation on autism. I knew I would need to maintain my audience of children, so I condensed my typical 2-hour training into 420 seconds. When I completed the first draft, I presented it to our parent liaison coordinator at our center. She was someone who had a child on the autism spectrum and had a good barometer regarding my usage of technical language. When I presented the first time, she gave me notes. A lot of them.

She gave me feedback on the terminology I was using. She told me that it was very technical and children would not understand it. I remember her giving me a note on the word ‘communication.’ “The word ‘Communication’ is a basic word. People will understand that!” I said. “A 6-year-old?” she said. She, of course, was right. I had to make my explanations more basic. She also asked where the pictures were in my presentation. My power point was filled with words and a basic white background. She was right again, this was not exactly a kid friendly visual presentation. I made a lot of changes to my presentation and practiced what I was going to say. I was ready to present at my first school.

When I saw 70, 6-9-year old children in the school auditorium I immediately became intimidated. As I waited to present, I watched the teachers speak to the children and I was taking mental notes, hoping that it could magically help me say the right things when I presented. I wanted the kids to understand me. I was called up to the stage and it was “go time.” The seven minutes (which turned into 15 minutes) flew by and I was officially done with my first presentation.

I had our Parent Liaison Coordinator record my presentation because I wanted to review my performance. Based on the recording, I noticed a few positives. The first was that the kids were engaged with me the whole time. They were transfixed and I had their attention, which was a good thing. I used visuals, and a simple video at the end of my presentation helped to highlight my key points.

While I presented, my main focus was on the language I used. Overall, I felt I did a good job using language that was easy to understand. I did slip a few times and used the words “communication,” “repetitive behavior,” and “quality of life.” I cringed as I heard myself utter those words. The kids most likely had no idea what I was saying and I thought of better ways to explain these points in future presentations.

The reason the presentation went on for 15 minutes was due to questions. I finished exactly at the 7-minute mark, and anticipated it to be done. One of the teachers asked if anyone had any questions. To my shock (and horror), about 40 little hands went up in the air! While I spent all of my time preparing how to present to this audience, I did not spend one second considering what type of questions I would get (which in retrospect was a huge tactical mistake). “Go easy on me, kids” I thought, secretly horrified by what questions a child may ask about this topic.

I went to the first child who raised their hand and put the microphone down so they could speak into it, and they simply said “I don’t understand.” I was not expecting that and I hesitated, as the question caught me off guard. Based on the terminology I used, I understood why they might say that. I recovered quickly by saying “You know, I’m not even sure I understand! This is really challenging stuff! But we need to accept everyone.”

As I looked around, the sea of hands only increased. I went to the next child. “Why is autism awareness month blue?” was the second question I got. I had NO idea what the answer was. If the child asked me anything on the attributes of the autism diagnosis, I would have been ready but “Why is autism awareness month blue?” was not a question for which I was prepared. I acknowledged that I was not sure, and said something about blue being a soothing color. I made a mental note to ensure I researched that and knew the answer.

“Where does the word ‘autism’ come from?” was the next one. I knew it was a Greek word, but I did not know the exact origin. Would the children know what “Greek” means? I navigated the best I could around that answer, also making a mental note of learning more about the roots of the word and developing a better response to this question.

The next question I received was one I would have never anticipated. “Can my dog get autism?” I hesitated again, not because I did not know the answer (I was quite sure animals did not meet DSM criteria for diagnosis), but because I never anticipated such a question. I received question after question similar to these, and then at the 15-minute mark it was over. The kids clapped and my first presentation experience was over.

While I was not entirely happy with my first presentation (particularly the Q and A portion), I was excited for the next one. I learned a lot from the first presentation and grew more confident, now that I had a better idea of what to expect. This was difficult, but a challenge I wanted (and looked forward to). I did my research and was ready for the second presentation. I had my staff get together in our conference room and instructed them to ask me the most random questions about autism. This exercise helped me to think on my feet and to research areas related to autism that I had never thought of.

The second presentation was conducted for a similar age range. This time, I avoided (with the exception of one slip) all complex language in my presentation. I knew I had done fairly well on the second presentation, but now it was the challenging part – the Q and A portion. A sea of hands went up, and while I was still nervous, I felt much more confident than I did the first time.

The first question was the dog question (“Do dogs get autism?”) and the second question was the blue question (“Why is autism awareness month blue?”). If I knew any better, I would have thought that the first school coordinated with the second school to ask me the same questions. But they did not; they were kids, and kids ask similar questions. I was ready with my prepared answers, and I answered as if I was anticipating them (because I was). Questions like “Can you catch autism from your brother?” and “How do people with autism get ice cream?” were also asked, which I thought I navigated quite well.

The third and fourth presentations were similar. I was getting better at answering their questions based on novel scenarios. I had to (for the first time in decades) think like a 7-year-old. What would a 7-year-old want to know about autism? I was getting even more confident answering the questions, and (dare I say) I actually started to like doing it.

On the fifth presentation, a little girl raised her hand when I asked if anyone had any questions. She asked a question I had never thought of, and it definitely made me think. “We aren’t any different than them! What’s the big deal?” The innocence of the statement made me tear up. Thankfully, only the 2 adults in the back caught me tearing up, which was ok because I saw them tear up as well. We all knew that she had completely understood the message- and it was the whole point of these presentations- that being different is ok. As I look back on it, I don’t remember exactly what I said in response, but I remember being incredibly touched by it, and realizing that we were on the right track with the information we were presenting to these children.

As I continued to present to different schools, I enjoyed it more and more each time. I was starting to get really meaningful questions from the kids. This thing I initially feared became something I was looking forward to doing. With each presentation, I felt more confident and I felt I was getting better at using easy to understand language.

After each one, teachers would come up to me and thank me. They told me that it meant a lot to them and that they were excited for initiatives like this. I started to also hear that they noticed behavior changes in their schools, with children including children with special needs in their play groups and eating lunch with them. It made me feel good to hear the positive feedback, but it also accented an unmet need of information that must be provided to children.

As I finished the twentieth presentation, I felt a deep sense of fulfillment. I presented to 20 schools in 30 days. This thing I dreaded and feared had truly become something that I enjoyed, and it made me step out of my comfort zone. If you have the opportunity to do something like this, I strongly encourage you to consider it.

It is so important to help children see that being different is ok. It may potentially prevent bullying and even create a culture of tolerance in their schools and communities. Shedding light and informing children about what might seem foreign or scary to them, helping them to understand and appreciate differences, and encouraging confidence in approaching what they do not know about others is critical. Doing so can potentially benefit every child with a richer understanding and acceptance of those around them. This work also provides models for appropriate behavior, giving children guidance on how to behave inclusively.

The feedback I received from the schools suggested that these goals were on the road to being accomplished. What schools really appreciated was the recommendations I made within the presentation. When I showed a picture of someone siting by themselves on the playground or having a bad day, the responses from the children was one of compassion and support. Teachers reported a change in children’s behavior after these presentations, which was incredibly rewarding to hear.

I encourage all practitioners to explore doing something like this. We live in a huge world with lots of children who need this kind of information. Of course, it is a bit scary if you have never presented to children before; but from someone who has been through this, I can tell you that it is definitely one of the most rewarding things I have ever done in my career. I am so glad to have had this opportunity, and it has become an annual tradition for me during autism awareness month.

Citation for this article: ​

Orland, N. (2020). Autism Awareness in the Middle East: Adventures in dissemination to school-age children. Science in Autism Treatment, 17(12).

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