When Dr Hibah Shata gave birth to her daughter Sarah in 2005, the family welcomed a beautiful healthy child. Over time, however, this third-time mother noticed that Sarah was not responding in the same ways her elder siblings had. Doctors suspected autism and told her to find a special nursery with speech and occupational therapy while awaiting the definitive diagnosis. “It was hectic,” remembers Hibah, a successful dentist who was running her own clinic in Dubai. “The waiting lists were endless and most services only applied to children over the age of 3. I had to make a decision: either leave Dubai to seek services in North America or stay here and do something about it myself.”
