Maka Sharipashvili

Maka Sharipashvili, 35 years-old, and Saba Tsiklauri, 12 years-old, from Kaspi.

Maka:
At the age of two, Saba started speaking in English rather than Georgian. He wouldn’t respond to his name and wouldn’t play or communicate with us. We were advised to take him to a specialist. We did and he was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

At first I couldn’t understand what I was dealing with or from where to start. The first thing we did was to enroll him into services in Tbilisi, which brought about great results. I also learned everything I could.

For two years we traveled from Kaspi to Tbilisi for services. Finally, we had to stop due to a lack of funds, but I continued working with him, using what I had learned, one-on-one at home.

Saba went to kindergarten and is now at school. He is a very cute, warm, and, importantly, a smart boy.
It hasn’t been easy and I’ve struggled with the reactions from society around us. Early on, people weren’t very accepting of us and I was forced to explain to everyone why Saba was the way he was. As time has passed, attitudes have changed and I no longer feel like I have to make excuses for Saba. I don’t want to, I just want them to accept him as he is without asking too many questions.

Saba:
“I love the English language and playing on the phone, I want to become a hacker.