Akila Vaidyanathan sends me a link to an article that talks of how World Autism Awareness Day has become nothing more than a ‘feel-good’ factor for most people writing about or involved in it in a marginal way.
I ask if the article reflects her own sentiments. Vaidyanathan, Founder-Director of AMAZE, says it partly does. “Sometimes I feel these events to highlight certain days are no more than a mela.” They are important, she is quick to point out, but says it is important to go beyond. Vaidyanathan says that spreading awareness is the first step but more needs to be done.
Living with autism
Vaidyanathan recalled how she asked her son Nishant if he had a message for Autism Day. His reply was, “I have autism everyday...why only today?” That sums up the problem, says Vaidyanathan. So, in an effort to go beyond merely telling people about autism, Vaidyanathan and her husband Sriram Narayan (Mangaging Trustee of AMAZE) have been exploring alternatives.
On this Autism Day, they tied up with Lathadevi R Sivakumar to see if young men with autism could be taught skills that would hold them in good stead. These boys had been trained in various activities, including cooking, at the Amaze Activity Centre. So Vaidyanathan and Sivakumar put their heads together to plan a workshop where Nishant (21), Gokul (18), Yogesh (18), Mithilesh (16) and Gautam (27) learnt to make multi-grain crackers and dips as well as a salad.
“The boys are good with repetitive actions. They know how to follow pictorial instructions and, therefore, an illustrated detailed recipe. Our ultimate aim is to give them enough skills to make cookies, crackers and other products that can be sold commercially,” explains Vaidyanathan.
“They have done well, “ smiles Sivakumar whose beautiful kitchen buzzed with activity. The boys wore chef’s hats and aprons and went about their work, nudged along by their teachers, but largely following the instructions and doing what was required.
Sivakumar admits to being slightly apprehensive before the class started, but said she particularly enjoyed working with young people and saw no reason why this session should be any different.
Indeed, the boys chopped, sifted, rolled and kneaded quite professionally and with perfect camaraderie. Sivakumar ensured what her new crop of students made was healthy. “I know what a sugar rush can do,” she laughed. “So I picked salads, crackers and healthy dips.” So the crackers had no maida and were made with multigrains. There was very little oil. And the salad vegetables were all farm fresh and hand-picked by her. The boys deftly chopped the spinach, apples, cabbage and took turns to shake the bottle of dressing in order to emulsify it and expertly rolled out the cracker dough into thin sheets, which they then cut with a cookie cutter, before putting them in the oven. When they were ready, all those present made short work of it. Sivakumar had also baked a batch of wholesome banana muffins to round up the cooking party. Once the workshop ended, the boys cleaned up their table tops and washed up.
Miles to go
This is just the beginning, says Vaidyanathan. She and Sivakumar will now create a cooking course for these boys. “The idea is to mainstream them. Enable them, so that they can contribute to society in a meaningful way and be independent.” Vaidyanathan echoes the sentiments expressed in the article she shared with me. She says, wearing blue (Colour for Autism) or lighting up your building in blue lights, or putting out messages on social media does not quite cut it. “What we want for people with autism is beyond mere awareness and acceptance. We need to create access and include them.”
Amaze celebrates its Open Day at its Activity Centre on 13 April. Those interested in attending the function may call8940769505
