The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Awareness lacking about autism

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 26, 2006
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Awareness lacking about autism

Shubhra Tandon

Some children are differently abled, not mentally retarded, aver parents

HYDERABAD: Nirmala Murli had to wait for seven years after marriage to be gifted with her twins Sanjana and Sanjeev. That was three years back. However, the euphoria did not last for long. While Sanjana was healthy and normal like any other two-year-old, Ms. Murli realised a year ago that Sanjeev was different.

"He was late in his habits like turning on the side. There was a lot of restlessness as compared to Sanjana. He did not establish eye contact or respond to surrounding sounds," Ms. Murli said.

Marked improvement

Sanjeev is currently undergoing treatment at the autism centre run by Sweekaar Rehabilitation Institute for Handicapped. Ms. Murli said that there was a marked improvement in the child's behaviour.

Kamesh has a beautiful handwriting. He is shy but identifies numbers that he has copied down from the blackboard in his class. His sense of identifying facial features is also in place. But, that was not the case last year.

Four-year-old Kamesh, when he came to Sweekaar, was a very aggressive and hyperactive child. "He used to throw a lot of tantrums and did not speak clearly. His behaviour was also very different from other children," said his mother.

"I rue the fact that people still refer to differently abled children as mentally retarded. It hurts when people ask uncomfortable questions about my son," the mother said. Kamesh, despite his differences, goes to a school for normal children and is in kindergarten.

While society still grapples with its ignorance about mental health issues, innocent Sanjana prays to God everyday that her brother will soon call her name and speak to her.

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