Welcome to Chapter Thirty Five. My name is Zynab Al Bahrani and I’m an Autism Consultant and writer. I’m a mother of two boys on the autism spectrum called Yaseen & Saleem. I have almost ten years of lived in experience of parenting autistic children. I have been mentored briefly by Lisa Galley (Autism Consultant and Speech Therapist) and have achieved my qualification from the Open University. I have started my training in Gestalt Language Processing and I am also working alongside Sukina Noor (Poet and Spiritual Coach) in spiritual wellbeing.

When my eldest Yaseen was diagnosed at 18 months as autistic, I was thrown into a chapter of our life that I had no manual or guidance for. The waiting lists for the NHS here in the UK where too long and I didn’t know anyone from the community who I could seek advice from. Whilst at first we kept the news to ourselves so we had time to process it, I soon discovered that talking about autism openly was really important for my own wellbeing but also to shift community ideas about disability. As a family we have broken down barriers within the community and have navigated so many aspects of this path alone, but also with some incredible support along the way.

That’s why I created Chapter Thirty Five because this is where it all began and it’s time to pass own my guidance to other families. To provide that support for other families who may have just started on this journey or those who may be feeling a little lost or grieving what parenthood should have looked like. I am here to show you that parenting an autistic child will mould you into a new version of yourself. Yes, at times it can be incredibly challenging, and we are still going through this journey ourselves, but it will also shift your perspective about life.

“You are here to show others that mountains can be moved”