KOCHI: RITWIK is very sensitive. Even the chirping of a bird or a loud cry can upset him. But the 15-year-old wants to study astrophysics. The boy has a sharp memory and he searched the internet and found an institute in the US where he can pursue his dream. As the boy insisted, his businessman father shifted the family to the US. Niranjan, 13, started writing poems and stories at the age of 10. A collection of his works have been published by the Autism Club under the title ‘Hridayapoorvam’. The themes and expressions give a glimpse of his creative mind.
There are 83 poems and 13 stories in the collection. The boy is currently attending a course for autistic kids offered by a foreign NGO in Tiruvannamalai. Harikrishnan Gopi loves to draw micro images, often on stamp-size paper bits. The pictures drawn by the 12-year-old boy sheds light on his keen observation. Leyan, a 13-year-old girl, sings beautifully. Karthik, Akash and Nikhil are exceptional keyboard players. They are all talented, creative and intelligent, but aggressive, impulsive and non-social. They are students of Nirmala Training Centre for Exceptional Children, a special school for autistic kids at Kusumagiri in Ernakulam. The world mistakes autism as a disability, but we fail to understand the strengths of these kids. Autism, or autism spectrum disorder, characterises challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviour and communication problem.
The kids are very sensitive and have exceptional memory. “These kids are very sensitive and they can’t tolerate unexpected events. Even a clap can unsettle them. Sometimes, they will be aggressive. It is difficult to communicate with them, but some of them can read your mind. We had a child who learnt 12 languages through YouTube. But the same kid needed help to brush his teeth. It is said these kids have a sharp ear and hear a whisper in the next room or the flutter of a butterfly. They are amazing,” said Sr Sereena, head of Nirmala School. There are around 43 lakh students in the general education sector and the government offers free education to them. They are given nutritious noon meals and rice packets during festivals. But the special kids – those with autism, cerebral palsy, multiple disability and intellectual disability – are not offered any freebies. It is for the parents to take care of these children.
The Central government had enacted the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, which replaced the 1995 law on disability, on 19 April 2017. The Act is in line with the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and aims at encouraging establishments to have a disabled-friendly workplace. But, Kerala, which claims to be progressive, has failed to take care of special kids. “The biggest concern of the parents of autistic children is the future of their wards. These children need assistance to survive and the parents are worried about what will happen to these hapless kids after their death.
There are many parents who commit suicide, unable to bear the mental agony. The parent of an autistic girl had killed his daughter and committed suicide some years ago. It is time our government launches a project to take care of the autistic and the intellectually disabled. The parents of these kids are willing to contribute a part of their wealth for longtime care of their wards,” said Fr Roy Mathew Vadakkel, director of Asha Nilayam Special School in Ponkunnam. There are 314 special schools run by charity organisations in Kerala that provide training to children with special needs. The only government institution in this sector is the State Institute for the Mentally Challenged in Thiruvananthapuram. There are also 67 BUDS schools run by local bodies.
Around 22,000 children attend these schools. “We at Asha Nilayam are planning to launch flats for autistic children to live with their parents. If the parents die, we will take care of the children,” said Fr Roy, who is also the chairman of the Kerala Government Orphanage Control Board. “There are 2,500 teachers, 3,000 non-teaching staff and around 700 therapists working at the special schools. While the teachers of normal schools draw an average monthly salary of `28,000, these special school teachers are drawing just `3,000. We are planning to launch an agitation this month in front of the Secretariat, demanding better pay for special school teachers,” said Fr Roy.
Article Source: The New Indian Express