We are same, yet different .... Accept our difference and empower us!

Dear All

April is Autism Awareness Month. I will make use of the opportunity to explain about us and Autism in general. In your life, when you would have met and interacted with a disabled(or differently abled) person e.g. a person with blindness, a person with hearing issues or a person who is supported by a wheel chair, you know their condition immediately. That is because, these people’s conditions are visible to us. Nobody needs to explain to us about their condition. On seeing it we could understand their condition.

Today am taking this opportunity to post something on a personal front, yet, impacting and important, for many more like me on a professional front across globe ! I did post this earlier on my FB and have been encouraged to share it here by so many well wishers.

Here it goes -

Not only Khushi’s behaviour, as a family our behaviour could be weird to you sometimes. You could be confused because of some of our actions...

The condition that Khushi or Khushi like kids/persons have is a neurological difficulty that may not be visible like physical disability unless or until they exhibit some behaviour which indicates it. This behaviour may feel weird in public. What are these behaviours and why this looks weird, let me explain.

When a person who is blind takes a walking stick or a person with walking disability is supported by a ramp for his/her wheel chair to move into a office building, they are the coping mechanisms for them.

But for kids/persons like Khushi there is no such tool or coping mechanism that he or she can have or neither is there any social infrastructure or understanding.

When we go to a common place or shopping place, usually there is so much noise that will bother her. To compensate that she may make odd sounds. Don’t look at this as weird. Like a walking stick or a wheel chair, if Khushi was supported by complete silence when he is shopping in super market she may not get disturbed.

When a person with disabilities like muteness or deafness, looks at your face closely or sharply, it is to understand lip movements and understand what you are saying. Khushi like kids/persons may have their own coping/understanding mechanism like

- [ ] Stimming (repetitive actions like flapping hands)

- [ ] making sounds

- [ ] Laughing/giggling aloud

- [ ] May have severe meltdowns

- [ ] - [ ] - [ ] - [ ] Or simply walk away from that place

These are all their coping mechanisms. Despite all these needs, they are like you and me. They too have wishes and needs like you and me. So accept Khushi like kids as part of the society. Integrating is important for their growth.

How to connect with them? You can work along with parents of the kids so that they can be integrated with society gradually. When parents of kids with Autism guide you in a certain way, please accept those inputs as each kid with Autism may have their own coping mechanism and learning.

When Khushi was diagnosed 18 years back, 1 in 200 kids were diagnosed with Autism (and only 1/20 was a girl child)... so technically 1 girl out of 4000 children. Today 1 in 54 children is the latest figure. So like how we give acceptance to other disabilities, if we give acceptance to these kind of neurological difficulties they can then be included as a part of this society.....and mainstreamed !

Lets give them this empowerment and the basic right of equality in life !

Thanks for your viewing, if possible, kindly do share further please.

Stay blessed !