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Artists from across the kingdom joined April’s autism awareness month by painting their hearts out on a school wall in Sitra to educate people on the spectrum disorder.
The Autism Awareness wall, created on the wall of the Alia National School right across from the Alia School for Early Intervention Centre, was conceptualised by Bahraini artist Shaikha Abeer bint Rashid Al Khalifa in collaboration with Shaikh Rashid bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, founder of Teenagers for Autism and president of the Council of Environment Improvement (CEI).
The Teenagers for Autism youth-led charity committee, established under the Bahrain Society for Children with Behavioural and Communication Difficulties in 2018, had put out a call to rally the artists to join their colourful cause.
“Our mission from the beginning was, and still is, to spread the word and raise as much awareness about autism as we can,” said Fatema A Rasool, the Teenagers for Autism vice president.
“Autism is still misunderstood in society and people don’t know what steps to take to help people with the spectrum disorder.
“Every person with autism is different and has their own strengths and set of challenges. With the right support, they will flourish. It’s important that we as neuro-typical people take up the responsibility of educating ourselves, this way we can come together to get rid of the taboo surrounding autism.
“We want to educate the Bahraini society about autism. We believe that if more people begin to understand it, life for people with autism will be much less challenging. They will have an easier time merging with society and becoming independent. When we posted a call for artists to help us with the awareness wall, the response was so incredibly moving.”
The group was overwhelmed by the number of artists who answered their call – but due to Covid-19 restrictions, they could only accept nine. The artists that took up their brushes in unity included Velimir Marinov, May Al Hujairi, Maya Al Shanti, Nawraa Ali, Shaikha Abeer bint Rashid Al Khalifa, Lana Zainal, Sarah Sharif, Iqraa Salman and Shahad Nasser.
Fatema said, “We allowed them to fully express themselves and their creativity on the wall and ended up with nine beautiful paintings. The best part is that the wall is visible to anyone passing by!
“We planned this project because it is a fun, safe and exciting experience for both artists and volunteers involved. It also really played a huge role in spreading the word about charity and autism.
“I was personally approached by a few people who enquired about autism and I’m always glad to answer any questions.”
Autism Spectrum Disorder includes a broad range of conditions characterised by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviours, speech and nonverbal communication. Each person with autism has a distinct set of strengths and challenges.
“This wall helped us spread awareness, inspire people to volunteer and support such a great cause and educate people about autism,” she added.
Aside from working on upcoming events, Teenagers for Autism is also planning to turn it into a council, similar to the CEI.
Fatema added: “We will have a range of committees focusing on supporting different intellectual disabilities, science and health related issues as well.”
The Teenagers for Autism is currently made up of six organisers of Bahraini and Egyptian nationalities, all aged between 17 and 19.
The president is Abdulla Al Awadhi and volunteers include Ereny Sherif, Isa Salman and Shaikha Noora Al Khalifa.
In the meantime, the non-profit initiative thanks all artists for their efforts as well as the school and centre for their help and cooperation.
For details, follow @teenagersforautism on Instagram.
