Andavar P. Jaidev, a bank employee, quit his job to bestow special care on his 10-year-old son Harish Jaidev, who was diagnosed to have autism when he was two and a half years old.
Today, he is a qualified special educator, who runs a centre for autistic children and secretary of Association of Parents for Persons Affected by Autism (APPAA).
On Wednesday, to mark World Autism Awareness Day, the APPAA organised a rally from Raja Muthiah Hall to Tamukkam to create awareness of autism, in which nearly 300 students from various colleges participated.
“The APPAA has around 80 members. Educating the parents is a must because they should understand this is a disorder and not a disease. Autism can be diagnosed in children from six months with the help of psychology experts,” Mr. Andavar also says.
India has nearly 40 lakh people with autism and there are around 500 in Madurai, he adds.
“I had to shift from Karaikudi to Madurai because Karaikudi did not have special schools for autistic children,” says R. Muthukrishnan, father of Kavi Varma, a 12-year-old boy with autism.
“Activities such as skating and horse riding practised in the centre have reduced the hyperactive nature of my son. Several parents keep their autistic children inside their homes to hide them from the world. But spending time with special educators is very important,” he told The Hindu .
According to Ms. Selvi, Harish’s mother, every child with autism has a special talent. “Harish is too good in operating computers. We only had to let him free to see where his interests were,” she says.
A.S.P. Aruna, mother of eight-year-old Sachin, says, “My son loves water. I am planning to enrol him in swimming classes. Initially, I was unable to come to terms with the fact that my son had autism, but now my family has adapted to his world.”
WorkshopA workshop was also conducted for the parents.
