Let's break the silence around Autism. Tell us how we can increase awareness about Autism!

Autism is a very difficult diagnosis for the family to accept. Accepting my 5 year-old's autism took a toll on my relationships, especially with my husband. However, with family support and professional guidance we are doing fine. It is important to extend counselling support to the family and caregivers of autistic children. And, I hardly see that in India.

As a mother with a child in autism spectrum I think the medical fraternity and educational Institutions must be given some important directives about how to handle special needs children, their requirements, their behaviour pattern, meltdowns etc(which many a times are misunderstood as disobedience or misbehavior),government must initiate awareness campaigns regarding autism, police force must be trained to identify individuals with special needs and help them whenever they fall victim (just the way it is done abroad).First & foremost we must collate all the suggestions given by parents and submit it to health ministry and also they must be made aware that parents have to shell out a huge after of money on therapies, supplements, medicines for kids year after year and hence the financial aspect of raising a child on spectrum must be also looked into.

Why is autism such a taboo? My younger brother who is 28 years old has ASD. He has Asperger's and is working in an MNC. He definitely has certain limitations that inhibit him from being very social but that does not deter him from being like other people. The more we normalise autism the better it is. Who knows it better than people who have it in their family. Thank you so much for this initiative Team ParentCircle