They

12 min.

Filmmaker: Nurlan Hasanli

They

14.10.21

Zehra’s parents first noticed something was wrong with their little girl three years ago, when she was two. Her mother feared it was autism but doctors refused to listen for years. Finally, when Zehra was four, she was diagnosed with autism. But Azerbaijan does not have a state program for children with autism. First, Zehra was sent to a state-funded center for children with disabilities before ending up at a private autism center. Her parents said Zehra was responding well to the treatment until Covid hit, forcing her to give up her treatments and stay at home.