My friend is raising his non-verbal autistic son on a grad student stipend. Trying to help his family
I want to share something for my friend Tariq and his wife Sadia, because they would never ask loudly for themselves.
Their 9-year-old son, Ahmad, is a sweet, joyful kid who loves alphabet letters, picture books, and footballs. He's also non-verbal and lives with autism, an intellectual disability, and a seizure disorder. He communicates by taking you by the hand to show you what he needs, and he requires watchful care every waking moment, including because he tends to wander.
Tariq is a PhD student at the University of Rochester living on about $3,200 a month. Sadia cares for Ahmad full-time. On top of everything, they have a one-year-old, Saad, who spent his first 50 days in the NICU. They have no extended family nearby, so it's just the two of them, around the clock.
They've put together a fundraiser to cover the things that actually help Ahmad: speech and communication devices, his therapy and swim programs, safety equipment for a kid who wanders, and a little respite care so they can keep going. Every dollar goes straight to his care.
If you're able to chip in, even a few dollars, it genuinely helps. If not, sharing it costs nothing and helps a lot. Thanks for reading.