In April Vibha observed ‘Autism Awareness’ Month. Most of us were probably not even aware of the existence of ‘Autism Awareness Month ‘or may be some of us just shrugged it off as one of the plentitude of ‘awareness months’. For about 0.66% of people worldwide and their families, autism is a part of their life not just during the month of April but month after month, year after year. Yes, it is a fact that autism affects 1 in every 150 people worldwide and that it is the fastest growing disability with an annual growth of 10-17%. At India’s current population, it is estimated that there are 1.7 million autistic persons in the country. However the majority of autistic people in India have not been diagnosed and do not receive the services they need.
Take the case of my own relative (let’s call him KP). At age 2 KP showed symptoms of autism i.e. inability to speak, not responding to his name, no ability to follow instructions, fixation on audio cassettes, repeating things over and over , severe temper tantrums and much more. He was labeled with everything from ‘slow’ , ‘crazy’ to ‘mentally retarded’ but was never diagnosed with anything. His mom, refused to take him to a psychiatrist fearing the diagnosis, its social and financial implications. When the regular school that he attended could not handle him, he got sent to a boarding school. The nuero-typical kids there made fun of him adding to his anguish leading to further behavioral problems. Finally he had to drop out from the school. Today he is an adult who needs to be dependent on his mom. She worries about his future after her.
KP’s case underscores the hurdles faced by parents of autistic kids in India. Back when KP was growing up autism was relatively unknown. A child was considered either ‘normal’ or ‘mentally retarded’. In reality autism is a ‘spectrum’ disorder which means that people with autism can be a little autistic or very autistic. Thus, it is possible to be bright, verbal, and autistic or severely impaired, non-verbal and autistic. With early intervention and proper therapy most high functioning autistic children could go on to lead normal independent lives. Ideally, an autistic child should be put on an `early intervention program’ by the time he or she is 18 months old. In reality, autistics are brought to special schools only when they are much older, which makes teaching them considerably more difficult. Early diagnosis requires high level of alertness among parents as well as doctors.
A UCLA study on the diagnosis of autism in India indicates that parents in India notice something different about their child 6 to 10 months later than parents in US. “Norms about child development are culturally shaped and impact when a symptom may be recognized as problematic” UCLA psychologist Tamara Daley said in her study published in the Social Science and Medicine. As a psychologist points out a child that keeps quiet without emotion may be interpreted as a ‘good child’ in India. If at all a parent suspects that something is amiss, they may still hesitate to see a psychiatrist because of the social stigma associated with it. Some western countries now require that every child be screened for autism by age 2 irrespective of whether they are developing normally or not. Having such a uniform requirement in India will enable parents to have their child screened without fear of the society.
Furthermore, even if a child is diagnosed correctly there are very few resources at the parents’ disposal. As seen in KP’s case most schools are not equipped to handle autistic children. The problem of education of autistic children is quite complex. Autistic children do well working one on one, but the idea of mainstream education is to make the children study in a group, which is a difficult task and needs lot of training of the professionals. There is a dire need to build special schools for such children and /or train teachers in regular schools to take care of autistic children, to enable them to become productive members of the society.
The Right to Education bill passed recently by the Lok Sabha has been hailed as a landmark bill for the Indian education system. However, the bill has grossly overlooked the issue of education of “children with disabilities”, particularly those with Autism. The bill does not provide any right to education for such children as it excludes children with such disabilities from mainstream education. Though the rights of children under the Persons with Disabilities (PWD) Act have been protected in the Bill to some extent, it does not cover cerebral palsy and autism. Unless the Persons with Disabilities Act is modified, the Right to Education Bill will not accrue any benefit to autistic children.
Due to increasing efforts by parents, lot of schools have now become aware of the disability. There are some schools which are actually willing to help but they are not equipped. There is a therapy called Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), which has proven to be very effective in Autism worldwide. But there are very few ABA therapists in India, as ABA is not taught in Indian universities. The therapists who are available are all trained abroad and hence their charges are very high. Then there are the children whose condition is too severe to be helped through training. There is an urgent need to build more homes and centers to care for these children when they become adults: people with autism have a normal life span and many will require supervision after their parents’ death.
The need is great but dark days of autism in India may be nearing their end. Compared to KP’s childhood years, there are many more descriptions of autism in the public sphere and popular media. For example, there have been several characters in recent Indian films like ‘My Name is Khan’ that have autism. These depictions are not always 100% accurate, but they do serve to raise awareness among the general public. The more awareness there is, the easier it will be for diagnosis at a young age. In addition, the more the awareness, the more the acceptance and the more the chances of a push for the right policies and resources. ‘Action for Autism’ a non-profit group has been a pioneer in raising autism awareness in India. Other NGOs like Janmadhyam have been actively involved in helping autistic children and their families in several ways. With their help, stories like KP’s have a better ending today.
For the last few years Vibha has been funding the efforts of some of these NGOs. As members, patrons and volunteers of Vibha, each one of us is making a difference in the lives of autistic children in India. In our next issue we will discuss in detail the role Vibha has been playing to assist such NGOs with their efforts.
Sources:
http://autism.about.com/od/whatisautism/tp/topfacts.htm
http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_What_Autism_Facts/
http://www.autism-india.org/afa_autisminindia.html
http://biharandjharkhand.com/blog/?p=48
I need some photographs for documentation. K.R.Baskar.
like to now about any centres located at hyderabad, india.
It is wonderful that consultants at Ummeed have started a program in collaboration with TISS to train ‘Child development aides’ who would be assistants ( SNA’S / special needs assistants as termed here) to our little children in mainstream schools. The benefits to children having access to a Resource Teacher and SNA in school is manifold.
Any centres for ABA in Kerala?
am running a Rehab and a Therapy center for special Need children (Autism, Dyslexia, ADHD, Down Syndrome). Center is located in Gurgaon DLF Phase 1 and offers very intensive services for children.
My Contact number is 9717924973 and you can visit us at http://www.arightstep.net.
I have completed basic coursework in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) from Florida Institute of Technology and currently taking mentoring from BCBA ( Board Certified Behavior Analyst) in USA.
have done Diploma in special education (2000-2001) , Bed in Special Education (2002-2003), PG Diploma in Early Intervention from NIMH (National Institute of Mentally Handicapped), Hyderabad (2007-2008).
Regards
Swati
my son Divam 18 year is autistic,we live in jammu j@k needs help regarding location of help institute in or near Jammu
Autism has taken toil of one out of every 88 kids in USA. Possibility of same ratio in India is there.
There is a need for like minded parents and people who wish to make a difference in some one’s life to get to gather.
My medico wife and I have MS in mental health counseling from USA and have worked with children with Autism.
Do contact
satishchhabra407@gmail.com
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i am special educated or abi m Gurgaon mi ghr pi special needs children ko tusan data hu and plz call me 8818001007 any typ children
Autism-A Ray Of Hope!
I am a mother of 15 year old autistic boy.I wish to share my first hand trivia through this blog.
My brush with Autism took us to premier hospitals in the U.S.A,Germany,Mexico and finally to India.
What happened in India, with Ayurveda is incredible! I wish to reach out to those, who are suffering endlessly because of an Autistic child.Kindly spread this message,so that it benefits all those in anguish.Here, is a brief account of my story.
My son Aadi* was diagnosed with AUTISM at a premier hospital in the USA at the age of 3. He is 15 now, and is showing remarkable improvement and recovery through Ayurvedic treatment given by Dr. Harsh Sehgal. This may sound to good to be true!
He was acutely disconnected from his family, environment and himself. Our journey to find help and healing for our son took us to experts all over the US, Germany, Mexico and India. At the time of his diagnosis he exhibited the following symptoms-
We felt a ray of hope shine through our dark situation. After taking Ayurvedic medicines for one month, we could notice the following changes.
. He was no longer constantly aggressive, upset or frustrated.
He started becoming, more stable, calmer and balanced.
· He became happier and also, much more teachable.
· Cognitively, he was picking up new information at a faster rate and retaining more of what he had learned. His attention, motivation and cognition were all improving.
I look forward to continued improvement in his condition in the future. I believe that Ayurveda has marvels. I hope that my story will make a difference in the lives of many who google “Autism” in despair.
Regards,
Mrs.K.N.Mishra
e-mail: kn_mishra@yahoo.com
The doctor’s contact address is
Dr. Harsh Sehgal,
“Trilok Ayurveda”
Street-8, Rajendra Nagar, Dehradun,
Uttarakhand,
India.Pin-248001
He can be reached at +919837071030, 0135-2753871.
website-www.trilokayurveda.com
Yes even after substantial number of people suffering with such Sensory Processing disorders like Autism Spectrum disorder parents do not have right tools as to how to handle little things like making the child wear clothes because it is a prevailing cause for child’s irate attitude as he may not feel comfortable in certain type of clothing just because its not made the right way. Providing simple solutions so that child can go through without any kind of distractions is needed. Find me on twitter @lakfish_adaptiv
Informative post with good and deep insights, I totally consent with you. Appreciate your efforts which made to write this article.
The study shows that early behavioral intervention have shown promise in having positive outcomes in treating children with ASD. Learn more about early intervention at https://www.totsguide.com/
Hello,
I’m with Healthline, the second largest consumer health information site on the web with an audience of over 60 million. We recognize that Vibha Blog is doing essential work to raise awareness about autism, and we’re interested in working together.
We’ve recently published several autism-related articles that we felt might be of interest to Vibha Blog readers. You can see them at the links below.
http://www.healthline.com/health-news/white-matter-clues-to-autism-and-adhd
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/autism-becoming-mainstream
https://www.healthline.com/health/autism/top-iphone-android-apps
Would you consider sharing any of these articles with your readers?
In addition, we have quite a bit of autism-related content coming up that could be a good opportunity to showcase Vibha Blog and the important work that you do.
If interested, please let me know and I can provide more information.
Best,
Maegan
—
Maegan Jones | Content Coordinator
Healthline
Your most trusted ally in pursuit of health and well-being
Dear Sir / Madam,
Subject: HUMBLE REQUEST TO HELP & DONATE – SERVE AUTISM – SPECIAL CHILDREN
It’s our pleasure to introduce about our society. NVR FOUNDATON is a non-profitable society started for care and improvement of Autism – Special Kids from lower income group. Society will give training to both autistic kids and their parents. Dedicated training will be offered to increase the IQ (above 50) level of special kids and parenting, learning for parents. This can be achieved through OT – Occupational Therapy, ST – Speech Therapy, PA – Physical Activities, LC – Listen & Concentrate, SE – Special education, VT – Visual Therapy, BT – Behavioral Therapy, PIM – Play & Identify Material etc…
ShreekumarAcadeemy is a special school launched under the roof of NVR FOUNDATION at Kattupakkm in Chennai Urban Area. We deal with special kids along with their parent as day scholarsschool on regular basis same like any other schools. In due course of time these special kids will learn and trained to be on their own by taking care their regular day-to-day activities. Teachers and Trainers in the school are well versed in dealing with special kids. They are qualified in the Autism subject, very much patience in dealing kids, dedication and humanity towards special kids. The school deal with age from 06 to 14 years committed to improve life and personality of special kids.
ShreekumarAcadeemy – Special School is for the poor and below poverty levelpeople Autism is growing gradually, where awareness is very diminutive and has to improve in a big way @ 360 degrees. There are more family with autism – special child with very poor financial background struggling to do parenting and teach their child. ShreekumarAcadeemy identifies such special kids with low income group and renders the educational service which is most essential to improve them be part of social, community & general public.
“Offering life towards Autism – Special Kids is attaining divine”. It’s a sincere service to GOD.
Your little contribution to the foundation will be definite help us to train and educate special kids. Please donate and help the poor Autism Community.
Also please find attached presentation – PPT & about, NVR Foundation are for your kind perusal.
Thanking you
Yours Truly,
Deepalakshmi .G
Mobile: 9176053330
nvrfoundation@rediffmail.com
http://www.nvrfoundation.com
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I like your blog. We are Navkshitij – Home for Mentally Challenged Friends. The mission of Navkshitij is to create a home for mentally challenged friends, where their ageing parents can see them relocated, assured that their child will live a life which is happy, dignified, warm and full of excitement and joy.