A Turkish couple living in Germany found treatment for their son with autism in Türkiye's Kocaeli district.
Ali and Gülten Ceylan visited several German doctors, suspecting that their 18-month-old son was not progressing in his development. However, the European doctors they visited all told the couple that "there is nothing wrong with your son, and such problems will disappear as he gets older."
By the age of 2, their son Miran's development did not improve, and the family decided to go to seek medical advice again. After several tests, Miran was diagnosed with autism.
At that point, the Ceylan family sought special education. After trying several methods, such as occupational therapy and speech-language pathology, the family did not see improvement in their child and instead turned to Turkish medical professionals for help. After some research, the family decided to meet with the Atlantis Counseling Center in Kocaeli's Başiskele district.
After focused treatment in Türkiye and a move to the country, the family finally heard the first word from Miran's mouth, "baba," meaning "father" in English, when he turned 6.
"We wish we had come sooner," Miran's father said.
Pointing out that there is no continuous education program in Europe, he also said: "45 minutes once a week is not enough; continuity is essential in such cases. However, in Kocaeli's counseling center, the trainers, nature and animals make this place unique, and children's engagement with nature and animals is very beneficial."
Explaining the process, Ceylan said: "We realized that my son Miran had not connected with us by the time he was 18 months old. At that time, we started to do tests on our own. He was reacting to the songs he liked but not responding to us. So we decided to go ahead and take Miran to the pediatrician and check it out. They told us that he could not be diagnosed at that age and that everything was normal, and such signs would disappear with development at his age."
"We revisited the doctors when he turned 2. Experts diagnosed Miran with autism. We enrolled him in different educational centers in Germany, but four years passed, and we saw no improvement. We searched for training institutes and discovered this particular education center in Türkiye. It took some time to get here. We had to make arrangements to visit. But once we came here, we realized that we had to move right away," he said.
Ali Ceylan said that his son's inability to speak was a challenge, but the treatment the young boy has received in Türkiye has made all the difference. "Once when he wanted something from me, he called me 'baba.' The moment was precious to us. It isn't easy when you don't hear any word from your child."
"I wasn't ready when he said 'daddy' for the first time, people get emotional, and I was touched too. We have traveled 2,500 kilometers to hear our child say a word. We'll keep coming here until he starts speaking fluently."
