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Our family helping your
family communicate
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| Saudi Arabia, February 25 - March 6, 2011 |
In the cities of Riyadh, Buraydah in Al Qasim region, and Jeddah, all in the country of Saudi Arabia; we spent four days in Riyadh, 2 1/2 days in Buraydah, and the final three days in Jeddah.
We were sponsored by an educational organization and the Saudi Autism Society for these workshops and seminars within the country. As in most of the rest of the world, many of the changes that are happening within this country are driven by parents of children who have autism. Medical and educational organizations have then responded to those needs by developing special schools for children with autism. After two days of lectures to an audience of clinicians, physicians, parents, and teachers in Riyadh, we then worked with the staff and a number of children at an autism school in Riyadh. Most of the children we observed and most of the questions from parents and teachers concerned children with a more typical autistic disorder with co-occurring intellectual challenges, feeding and sensory issues, and severe behavioral challenges.
Lecturing in Riyadh; those soft seats toward the front were especially nice during the afternoon “rest” time, which hopefully didn’t occur while we were speaking.
Our host in Qasim area, Dr. Achmed Shaaban, professor of anthropology.
We rode camels, ate camel meat, drank camel milk, and even watched camels perform at this large camel and date farm near Buraydah.
The camel farm was owned by a large family of brothers, some of whom are pictured here with us. I think that the next time we must ditch the suits. Kinda hot.
Engaging with the audience in Buraydah. We delivered lectures at Qissim University.
Our male only audience in Buraydah. The ladies were in a separate building with video and audio feed to hear our lectures.
A new meaning to the term “Have a Camel” in Buraydah.
Nice meal at a home but we were exhausted.
The lectures in Jeddah were held at a large private hospital. This was the largest audience with about 150 people, men and women, present for the two-day conference. As in the other cities, Dr. Hall and I shared speaking responsibilities. I talked about treatments for children with autism, some ideas regarding working with children in schools, and how to work with families. Dr. Hall talked about the neurobiology of autism and presented behavioral strategies for working with children with autism in homes and schools.
Lecturing in Jeddah at the International Medical Center hospital.
Jeddah is a beautiful city on the Red Sea, somewhat more cosmopolitan than much of the rest of the country.
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