The Autism Care Centre in Thrissur, set up four years ago, has sent five children to normal schools after training them for three years. They joined Class I at various schools last year.
“This was possible because they were sent to the centre when they were three years old,” said Ravi A.S., president of Autism Society, Thrissur, and caretaker of the centre which is run by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the Thrissur Corporation.
A survey conducted by Autism Society had found that there were as many as 110 autistic children in 86 schools in the district. The disorder varies from person to person, and each individual requires support in accordance with the needs. It comes under a spectrum of mental health disorders, and it can be managed only by keen observation of the child and understanding his/her needs, Mr. Ravi said.
While intermingling of children is crucial in the growing-up stage, autistic children cannot be trained along with those with other disabilities as they shy away from eye contact and social interaction. They prefer to sit alone and do not speak even if they hear someone calling out to them.
“It is these particular behaviours that we first need to decode in each child at a young age and prepare them to attend normal schools. Training them along with children with other disabilities will only make them go backward,” said Mr. Ravi. The aim of the centre is to make autistic children self-dependent, he added.
Besides toilet training and washing, the children are offered money management training too by taking them for shopping. “We have adults too [over 18 years] at the centre who come here for training. Other therapies like Yoga and meditation too are provided.”
“An important aspect of training is that parents should associate with the children as autism is incurable. However, it can be managed by minimising the disorder by up to 80%,” Mr. Ravi said.
