Care4autism

The pani puri stall as mentioned in my previous post  at the Christmas carnival at Bubbles was a hit. Ramam also participated in the whole process. He helped us with few plates, and kept humming Master Chef to himself .The cashier, my daughter was a little defunct as she had to handle coupons and not cash as anticipated. She had kept a sheet of her multiplication tables with her as a ready reckoner, in the case she will have to handle money and give change back to customers.                I have to mention this. Two mothers, Chithra and Lalitha waited very patiently just to have Ramam make the plate for them, giving him instructions, and praising him at the end of it. God bless you both. It is only for these few cherished moments that I put up the stall. For him to interact with others and feel good about the whole thing. And yes, in between all this, he helped himself to few pani puris too!      ...

                         I met this mother, Deepti yesterday (she also happens to be friends with me on Fb) for the first time. She introduced herself and asked me why I stopped blogging. I gave her some vague answer and told her probably nobody reads it. Just some ramblings of mine. She then told me I read every post of yours. That gave me a high. And so, this post is for you, Deepti.                            Looking back, I started this blog with the sole purpose that it helps somebody in this autism community, they get a parent’s perspective of the journey with autism. And so, let me try and be regular again.                    ...

It has been long since I posted something on the blog. but just having got to know that Sumathi Ramjee  has got  the NDTV award , was reason enough for me to get back to blogging . Such wonderful news, that I had to share it with others. Those who have know her will know this is a very well deserved award.                            The way she bonds with the children is amazing. She once told me that if she is not in good spirits, the kids are the first to pick it up.    A  Very positive , practical person, I am truly happy she got this prestigious award.                              In today's world , where people shout their achievements from the roof top, here is one lady who goes about her work quietly. It is very heartening to know her meritorious service has been recognized. Congratulations, Suamthi.   ...

The shoot out at elementary school has left me with a sense of despodency, grief, anger. A post on this blog is doing the rounds  http://anarchistsoccermom.blogspot.in/2012/12/thinking-unthinkable.html  My heart goes out to Adam Lanza mother.  There might have been many moments in her life when she must have been concerned for his future and  pondered over the now ubiquitous question "what after me"?   To shoot her, 20 children and then kill himself , it is a huge tragedy.                                         The word 'mental illness' is a black box, none of us can comprehend it fully. Everything is in control , till the unspeakable happens without warning. It is scary to say the least, when kids are on medications for various issue...

To quote Harshita Mahajan, a mother in Bangalore Mirror, December 6th 2012 issue, once… that autism is a zero sum game… you are either functional or you aren’t. Cognition doesn’t make the cut alone… it’s only a small part of the puzzle… a contributor to functionality. I had argued with my friend that in terms of her binary analogy that autism was a journey where we moved from the zero to the one. But finally you have to decide whether you are at zero or at one.                                  It cannot be surmised better. Often I think  if after so many years of intensive effort, if the final outcome is not up to your expectations , then indeed it would be a really sad story. It remains to be seen how functional Ramam would be at 20. By saying more, I don' t want to dilute the essence of those brief but powerful words.

ALFAA:  Recently attended the inauguration of AlFAA-Assisted living for autistic male adults. Ruby Singh the founder of ALFAA has taken on this initiative single handedly and that in itself is commendable. As a pilot project, she is taking in 5 kids in a smaller set up. She is planning to move in sometime next year around, to the proposed residential campus on 2.25 acres of land in North Bangalore (near Chikkaballapur).The campus would include • Residential cottages • One storey flats • 24hrs security and health care services. Currently she has a team of physiotherapists, spl educators and music therapists. She would be focusing on life skills. The neighboring villages would serve as a pool of employable care givers and in the bargain create job opportunities for the people of nearby villages. As part of the pilot project she plans to take on the laundry work for the neighboring houses. This will be some of the vocational activities she plans to introduce.(Did I men...

I had written this article for the newspapers, post the movie Barfi. It never got published. One paper was kind enought to send me a reply stating that articles written only by the staff are published. So here it is , by default for my discerning readers :)-. It may be a little outdated , but what with the kids hols and everything else , I just got busy. There you go....                        Autism is back in news, grabbing eyeballs. Thanks to Barfi, the disability is garnering the attention that has been overdue to it. The movie has stuck an emotional chord with most viewers. It has received its fair share of brickbats and bouquets. What has Barfi given us? It has given the parents, caregivers, professionals belonging to this ever increasing community of autism, a captive audience.               ...