He turned down 22 schools, so he built a special school for his child.

A woman has been going from school to school to get her autistic child admitted. But no one has offered her any hope. One by one, 22 schools have turned her away. Today, that woman has set up a school for children with special needs so that others like her child do not have to go through the same experience.

The name of this Syrian woman is Rana Akkad. She lives in Dubai. In an interview with Gulf News, she said, "Yes, my son Jad Atassi was turned away from 22 schools. I tried all kinds of cheap, prestigious, low-quality schools. I even tried to put him in a center for children with special needs. But there he was very backward physically. He had some speech and behavioral problems, but no physical disabilities."

Rana, who came to Dubai 22 years ago, said that she noticed that when Jad was one and a half years old, he did not mix with anyone, did not look at anyone in the eye. He could say hello to his parents, say hello, and hold his dolls, but suddenly they were gone. He saw that sparkle of joy in his son's eyes again when he opened a center for children with special needs like his own. But sadly, two years later, Jad died suddenly. He was 11 years old at the time.

Talking about the events that happened after his son's death, Rana said, "Even though we understood it ourselves, it was clinically said that Jad was suffering from autism. Gradually, the family adapted to this situation. But getting him admitted to school was a tough battle. Rana said, after being rejected 22 times, he finally got the chance to get admitted to the school, but the struggle that followed was no less tough. 

The school where Jad was admitted was closed down by the authorities a few years later. Rana said, he always shared his experiences about the school with others. Rana recalled the beautiful times of the first few years. He said, "Jad got used to going to class with his shadow teachers. The children always kept him with them. They knew Jad, this boy could speak English, what innocent children's thoughts. But after a while, it turned out that they were no longer mixing with Jad. One day, I was returning from school with him. While walking, I saw that after a while he had stopped. He did not look at me even when I called him. He was looking away. I followed his gaze and saw all his friends in a car going to their friend’s house. The pain I saw in my son’s eyes that day made me die.’

This was the moment when Rana decided he had to do something for Jad and other children like him.