Autistic children bear hidden cost of violent police raids in Brazil’s favelas

Life in poor urban communities can resemble a war zone – but self-help groups are helping neurodiverse kids cope

In January, as about 500 police officers carried out a 15-hour raid in one of Rio de Janeiro’s largest favela complexes, Rafaela Figueiredo de França was trying to distract her six-year-old daughter, who has been diagnosed with autism.

To prevent Maria from panicking amid the seemingly endless barrage of deafening gunfire – so intense that it even brought down the wall of a nearby house – De França shut the windows and turned on two fans. “It’s a way of shielding her from the sounds of war,” said the mother.

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