There is this one kid though, Tamer, who always keeps a distance. “Tamer does not speak to any of us. When we try to converse with him, he gets scared and goes away. His head is always down and he rarely looks at anyone. Even when his sister tries to hold his hand or pat his shoulder, Tamer screams and pulls away.”

One day, as the kids were enjoying their play, a boy kicked the ball, hitting Tamer in his arm. Tamer flung himself to the ground and started crying and kicking his legs in all directions. As his sister approached to calm him down, his screams grew louder. He then sat on the floor and started swinging back and forth.

Tamer suffers from autism. It is difficult for him to communicate with people.

“One day, I saw Tamer trying to play hopscotch, while I was solving a complicated math question nearby. He seemed unable to roll his fingers. I took a few steps closer to him. He did not flinch. He followed me and sat by my side, watching me copy the numbers on my workbook. He grasped the pencil with all five fingers, scribbling the answer in a hardly comprehensible handwriting. Yet, he jotted down all answers correctly, without using the eraser at all. What a genius!”

Tamer’s Own World, by Fatima Sharafeddine, was published in its first edition in 2012 by Yuki Press in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The book is aimed at 7 to 9 year olds and is dedicated to the author’s childhood friend, Chirine, whose son suffers from Autism. Lavishly illustrated by Mariane Mousalli and Farah Merhi, Tamer’s Own World highlights the characteristics of autistic children, stressing that communication with them is possible after understanding their special needs. Sharfeddine provides at the end of her book a number of tips aimed at enlightening parents about the symptoms of autism in children under three years of age, in cooperation with SESOBEL’s Education Program Director.