It is important to understand the unique needs of autistic migrants or those of us from migrant backgrounds, as we often face unique challenges when navigating a new culture. To better understand the autistic immigrant experience, consider these factors:

1) language barriers,

2) the need for appropriate support services,

3) the stress of adapting to a new environment.

Conversely, to all this consider the unique strengths that autistic immigrants may bring to their new communities, such as their resilience and resourcefulness. By understanding and supporting autistic immigrants, we can create a more inclusive and supportive society.

Speaking from my own experience, I came from Baghdad to London via Amman, Jordan, with my mother and brother (who was a cutesie 11-month-old). I was 4 years old. By reflecting on my childhood it was clear that I was autistic.

The travel from one country to another is a trauma in itself. Shutting down was, and even is, a regular occurrence. During lessons I learned to block as much sensory information apart from the teacher’s. After one session of arabic school the teacher even fed back to my mum that I was such a good student always focused as if I was ‘swallowing’ the board. A term making ore sense in the arabic language than the translated English.

At home, I used games to understand and process the migration experience, without realising that I was doing this. My toys became families who would travel from country to country (room to room). They would have a government in charge that issued visas and passports. Currency was fully flowing in this little world of mine that I shared with my younger brother. We called it Ma Barbie and Cindy (this was how I spelt it in my head) game. Renting out homes to each toy who moved into an estate – a two-tiered coffee table!

Eventually I grew out of the doll games but always learned on using some form of gaming to adapt to new experiences. Every time I moved from one stage of life e.g. schools, homes, I would have to learn to adapt AGAIN. My personal items were very important to me. It was the worst thing in the world when I lost notebooks, magazines and drawings. They just went missing. Even after so many decades I’m still upset that I never found the notebook with the list of all the films I had watched. I had rated them too.

Eventually I learned to journal my daily life and create tools that would help me deal with emotions and certain situations.

One of the key factors of autism in females is the masking and the adapting to environments and social settings. We can see this as a skill in itself, although exhausting at times. Needless to say, there is a lot to learn from autistic experiences.