Living with Autism

LIVING WITH AUTISM by Umulkhair and Huda Ali

Living with Autism is part of the group exhibit Six Feet from Home.

Six Feet from Home is an exhibit centered around the work of Ubah Medical Academy’s Photo & Design students. These courses began in person during the Spring 2020 semester and were completed online when students could no longer physically be in school. The title, Six Feet from Home, reflects the current pandemic of Covid-19 around the world and the required distance (6 feet) to be kept between people.

Students collaborated to finalize their projects whilst at home. They created books about various stories they wanted to share with the help of their teacher Mrs. Katie Do and teaching artists Mr. Mohamud Mumin and Mr. Kaamil A. Haider. These stories are of culture and religion, of a boy and a monster, of a dream and identity, and much more.

The first phase of the exhibit will take place online on Say Masha’Allah Gallery’s website. This will be followed by the physical printing of books and a physical exhibition at Ubah Medical Academy.

2020 © Say Masha’Allah Gallery. All rights reserved.

This activity was made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

www.saymashallahgallery.com

LIVING WITH AUTISM

by Umulkhair and Huda Ali

2020 © All rights reserved. Umulkhair and Huda Ali

INTRODUCTION This book will be based on our story. We are Umulkhair and Huda Ali, twin sisters who go to school at Ubah Medical Academy. At an early age no one knew anything about autism and how it affected our lives.

Our parents were unable to understand our special needs at an early age. We were expected to go to school and Dugsi to learn the Qu’ran. After eight years of living with autism and not knowing our parents took us to see a doctor to find out what we were going through. After all, our family ended up moving to the United States where we received more services and schooling that aligned with our special needs.

When we were in South Africa we did not go to school. Every day we went to Dugsi and there people did not understand our special needs. We were reprimanded for not keeping up with other students and learning the lessons in our own way. Our parents took us to see a doctor when we were eight years old .

My mother said to the doctor, “my children are throwing things around the house everyday. I can’t clean the house and I’m tired of doing all the work from all the mess. They are spilling water all over the floor, breaking dishes and writing on the walls. They avoid people.” The doctor wrote on a paper and said we need special help. In 2016 we came to the US, but did not go to school right away. In Minneapolis, we did not have our own house so we lived in other people’s apartments. It was hard living with people this long because my family is a big family. We saw special doctors to see what special needs we have to help us learn and go school.

In the middle of 2016 we moved to Wisconsin since we did not have a house in Minneapolis. In Wisconsin we went to summer school at Washington middle school. We were in sixth grade for two to three months.

The students were very mean to us and would say, “oh my god, the twins don’t talk, they always talk to each other and don’t make friends.” The other kids were so mean to us. Some other students would say, “the twins are quiet, they do not respond to people.” My parents decided to take us to a different school since the other students were annoying and bothersome. We went to Lombardi middle school. It was not annoying to us.

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Throughout their life the twins work together as a team.

They truly understand each other and learn together. We can see in this picture how they learn and do their school work. It’s fair to say they are very hard working students.

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Huda and Umulkhair moved from South Africa to America.

This was a huge transition for the twins. They started school and got diagnosed here in the US. They got bullied in school at some point.

They had a hard time finding the right doctor to figured out their autism in South Africa.

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The twins are talking and enjoy life outside of their school. They started Ubah Medical Academy high school. They are talking about their day. Huda and Umulkhair are always there for each other. They had a hard time understanding weather in Minnesota , but now they got used to it.

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When they were in South Africa they did not learn school. Every day they were going to Dugsi and they were disciplined if they were not following the rules or not reading the Quran. Thier parents took them to the doctor when they were 8 years old .

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Their mother said “my children are throwing things around the house. I can’t clean the house and I’m tired of doing all the work they mess up. They are spilling water all over the floor and they break dishes and write pencils on the walls. They run away from people and do not come back.”

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The doctor wrote the paper. He said they need special help. In 2016 they came to the US and they didn’t go to school right away. They didn’t have their own house so they lived in people’s apartments in Minneapolis. It was hard living with people this long because their family was big. They saw special doctors who saw what special needs they have to help them learn and go school.

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2020 © All rights reserved. Umulkhair and Huda Ali

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Say Masha’Allah Gallery is a teacher-led, student-driven art gallery housed inside Ubah Medical Academy high school in Hopkins, Minnesota.

Art instructor Katie Do has taught drawing, painting and sculpture for over 7 years to Ubah’s students. To enhance arts literacy at the school, Ubah has collaborated with local artists and institutions to provide students opportunities to engage with professional artists and access to resources to create art and enhance their artmaking skills.

Ubah has collaborated with photographer and visual storyteller, Mohamud Mumin, and graphic designer and visual artist, Kaamil A. Haider for over 3 years. Together with instructor Do, they guide participating students in projects where they explore photography and graphic design as a means of visual communication and creative expression in a culturally relevant context, as well as providing exposure to college arts learning environments.

Students in these courses get the opportunity to exhibit their work at Say Masha’Allah Gallery where the teachers, staff, students and the community at large can see and interact with their work.

Ubah Medical Academy is a public charter high school serving grades 9-12. Founded in 2004 by educational leaders in the East African community, it has consistently ranked as one of the state’s highest performing Title 1 schools by the Minnesota Dept. of Education.

All the exhibits and programming at Say Masha’Allah Gallery are free.

1600 Mainstreet Hopkins, MN 55343

(952) 540-2942

www.saymashallahgallery.com