An Emirati woman has stated that she hopes Ahmed’s transformation from a disturbed child to a piano prodigy will change people’s perceptions of autism.
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As a young boy, Ahmed al-Mousawi drew the attention of teachers, and one United Arab Emirates nursery even expelled him for fear that he would damage the school’s reputation.
After receiving an autism diagnosis shortly after, Ahmed’s mother Eiman learned more about the disorder and realized that her son possessed a unique musical gift.
Ahmed found it difficult to express himself verbally, but he could express his emotions through the piano.
He even had perfect pitch, the unique ability to tell which musical notes were being performed simply by hearing them.
Prior to World Autism Month this month, his mother told Al Arabiya English, “I really want to be able to teach the entire world about autism, and I really want [people] to stop looking at autism as a disability, because it’s not.”
“Some folks used to say to me, ‘Oh my god, he plays the piano, thank God. He was given something new by God after receiving something from him.
“And after that, I retorted, ‘God never stole from him. God gave him a rare quality that other children lack.
Ahmed, a 12-year-old classical musician, is currently performing in some of the most prestigious locations in the after receiving some training. He has even begun composing his own pieces, and is branching out into writing jazz and hip-hop songs.
Some autistic people, despite struggling with verbal communication, are known to develop obsessive fixations in certain areas.
For Ahmed, his love of the piano keeps him playing until the early hours of the morning, and playing until his fingers are blue and swollen, his mother said.
“If I come to him, I say: ‘Ahmed, khalas, it’s sleeping time, you have school tomorrow.’ He says: ‘Please mama, please, I need this, I need to play only just a minute.’”
