Every issue we highlight 1 sensational Jeddahwy person, 1 Jeddahwy life aspect, and 1 Jeddahwy hot topic…

Maissa Ghonaim: A Force Of Change & Autism

This month’s Sensational Jeddahwy Maissa Ghonaim is an inspirational woman, mother, and cinema critic…

April is a month of new beginnings, and no one has had new beginnings like Maissa Ghonaim, a renowned Saudi film critic and one of the first female critics in Saudi Arabia. April is also Autism Awareness and Acceptance month, and Maissa has done plenty to help autistic children and their families, including moving far away for her autistic child’s benefit.

Jeddahwy got to talking to Maissa about her career and success:

Tell us about your fascinating career journey; what got you into it, and how did it develop?
I studied English Literature at university and took an intensive media course from the BBC. We studied drama, critique, theatre, and poetry, which taught us how to analyze art. It was my hobby to read and watch movie critiques and incessantly repeat movie scenes to analyze every little detail. So, I started as a journalist, but I felt that I was writing about what everyone else was writing because that was all there was.

I remember I told the Editor-in-Chief of Okaz, Muhammad Al Tunisi, that I wanted to write about movies, but there was no section for that in the newspaper. So, he opened a weekly page called Atyaf Faneyya (Art Spectrum) to write about everything cinema. I even did the first interview ever in 2011 for a budding and promising director, Tawfik AlZaidi, who has now been nominated at the Cannes Film Festival for his movie Norah, the first-ever Saudi film to be nominated. 

What challenges and support did you face, specific to KSA?
My biggest support was the editor, Muhammad Al Tunisi. He believed in me and was known as one of Saudi’s media leaders and innovators. He saw it coming, the cinema industry that we have now, as we (the Saudi society) were known for our love of cinema; we traveled to go to the cinema, and were ranked highest in the Middle East for movie channels’ subscriptions. We are a watcher society, but we didn’t have an industry of film production, writing, or studies. There were only 3 or 4 independent films made, and none were shown in Saudi Arabia, only in neighboring film festivals. So, when the first newspaper in Hijaz launched a critique page, it received excellent reader response.

What advice would you give someone starting up in this field?
This is a fantastic time to be in the industry! Everything you do will be appreciated and supported. But that also means there’s a lot of competition in this field, and if you’re similar, you won’t stand out. So, try not to copy anyone and do your own thing in your own way to be different.

April is Autism Awareness & Acceptance Month. So, we asked Maissa about her experience as a mother to an autistic child:

What are the advantages/challenges of dealing with an autistic child in KSA?
The challenges of dealing with an autistic child are the same in Saudi as anywhere else in the world. However, as for awareness and treatment in KSA, we are lagging way behind. Only now are we starting to address autism and all its needs. We didn’t have degrees in universities for ABAs or other methods of dealing with autism. And when we opened colleges for special needs, they were focused on special needs in general, which doesn’t adequately address how to deal with autism. Now, there’s a college specializing in ABA (the foremost method of treatment for autism), which just graduated its second batch of students. However, we still don’t have master’s degrees or higher education degrees in it. Autism has been studied and worked on abroad for the past 40 years, so their experience and methods of dealing with it are vast. We’re just starting, which is the biggest part of the challenge here.

How could we improve autistic support and awareness?
I’m not going to say media because the media has been talking about autism the wrong way. They keep talking about what it is, what happens in it, and how to deal with autistic people. This is not a solution. The solution is acceptance and integration in all places and situations. They should be accommodated in places like amusement parks, cinemas, and even in aviation. There should be days and places for people with sensory problems, which is what autism is, where the colors and sounds in the venue are adjusted and lowered to suit autism needs. This is all available abroad, and we should copy what they’re doing as they are way ahead of us when it comes to dealing with it. Families in Saudi don’t have options of places to take their kids that suit their needs. And this is not even addressing schools accommodating them yet.

What advice would you give families of autistic children?
Educate yourself about autism. If you can’t travel abroad, educate yourself; you will be able to understand them more and deal with them better. Learn how to get into their world because this is the only way to make your life and theirs easier. There are many courses, books, and materials available online with updated information and techniques. Also, the problem isn’t having an autistic child, the problem is in the denial of the families of the situation. It’s a voluntary struggle that the families undertake. Once you accept anything in life and understand it, regardless of its difficulty, it becomes easier and part of your life’s journey. So, accept the situation for what it is and take the necessary steps to deal with it.

April is also the month of New Beginnings, and Maissa moved her life and family for their benefit:

You moved away and changed your life; how has that challenge been?
I moved and changed my whole life because I tried all the facilities and treatments for my son, and I wasn’t satisfied with the results. And this treatment was going to end when he got to his teenage years anyway, as we don’t have care for that stage of life in Saudi. So, I had a pretty good reason for making the change. The challenge was the fear of making the move. It’s like when you’re so afraid to jump in a pool the first time, but once you do, you realize it wasn’t as scary as you made it out to be. It’s just about making that decision to change, and once you do, your body, the environment, and the whole world will help you, and you will survive. 

What important lessons did you learn from making that new beginning?
I learnt to see the solution in the challenge, and realized that it’s the fear of change that stops us from doing anything we should be doing. We’re capable of doing anything; the human brain can do miracles. It’s just a decision to push yourself. That’s it.

What advice would you give someone going through a new beginning?
Remind yourself of every time you went through a new beginning: first time at school, first time at a job, first time at university. The challenge was always in the beginning, then it got easier after that. It’s your fear of change, the unknown, and being out of your comfort zone that’s holding you back. It’s only a matter of time before you adjust. So, set a time in your head, I always give myself three weeks to adjust, and usually, you will find yourself settled or done before that deadline.

And finally, Jeddahwy asked about the issue that plagues every Sensational Jeddahwy person:

What are your most important tips for work-life balance?
I really wish I knew any tips for work-life balance; I don’t have it at all! There are no working hours for journalism or motherhood; I wake up in the middle of the night to finish an article or take care of the kids. So, I would say, use every chance to get the work done when the kids are good and calm. Just do your best.

If you have any questions or need assistance with autism support in Saudi Arabia or with moving abroad, find and contact Maissa Ghonaim on Instagram.

Town Tent

For the month of New Beginnings and Autism Awareness & Acceptance, we chose the fun-filled and sensory play Town Tent for April’s Jeddahwy Life review…

The new sensational kid’s place Town Tent in Murjan Area offers a plethora of well-thought-out entertainment for children. With its various sections consisting of arts and crafts, cooking, water play, Lego, face painting, indoor playground and trampoline, character appearances, and entertainers, children can easily spend hours of fun here with or without their parents. All these activities come at a reasonable entrance price by hour – opening offers of 1 hour for SR 55, and 2 hours for SR 85. They also have a birthday party room with attractive birthday packages starting at SR 2,000 that include organizing the whole event from A to Z and out-of-venue birthday services at your place of choosing. Not only that, but Town Tent also provides daily nursery services for toddlers till the age of three at competitive rates.

Find them on Instagram or contact them at +966543349984.

On New Beginnings and Autism

Having a child is a new beginning, but having an autistic child is the ultimate new beginning, writes Reham Kreidieh…

From the moment a baby is conceived, our body starts going through a miraculous process of transforming itself and the life growing inside it. Every cell is learning, growing, and adapting to reach that final whole. And then when the baby is born, our lives are again thrust into a whole new world of firsts and beginnings. And just as you are settling into the rhythm of it all, when you discover that your child is on the autism spectrum and when you thought that nothing could be as much of a leap as having a child in the first place, that child catapults you into the most significant change yet: the change that really teaches you to grow beyond yourself and everything you’ve learnt to enter their wonderfully unique world. A world with its own rules and systems that stem from him and him alone.

Until the 80s, when autism diagnostic criteria were standardized in the DSM-III manual, autism was hardly diagnosed as it was reserved for severe cases only. But, awareness and diagnosis have come a long way since then to recognize the multifaceted and versatile spectrum that is ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) in 2013 in the DSM-5. At its core, autism is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting communication, behavioral, and social skills. Put simply, that child lives in his own wonderful world, to various degrees, freed from what society wants, thinks, or expects. As a parent or family member, you would be lucky to enter that world and see life from a whole new perspective. And if that’s not the definition of a new beginning, then what is?

As with every new beginning, there’s a learning and adapting curve that could seem impossible or too challenging initially. But, with the right tools and mindset, every new beginning will be a blessing, even if it didn’t end up the way you thought it would:

Take It Easy Actively remind yourself every day that you are in unchartered territory, whether it’s a new job, country, or relationship situation.

Take Baby Steps Every day, take a tiny step towards fitting into your new life until those incremental changes add up to the new you.

Focus On The Big Picture This change you entered or that came into your life was for a reason. Remind yourself of that reason regularly, and don’t get disheartened by minor setbacks.

Acknowledge Your Fears It’s only natural to fear losing a new job, relationship, or situation. It’s natural to worry about that child’s future. And it’s completely natural to fear tomorrow and failure. The key is to feel that fear and move forward anyway, taking all the steps needed in your chosen direction.

Embrace Change The only constant in life is change. Look at it as your trusted companion, without whom your life would be utterly flat and without any growth. You are here today because of the changes that got you here, not despite them.

Life is a series of new beginnings. And just like how April is Autism Awareness and Acceptance month, the only way forward is absolute awareness and acceptance.