India’s views on autism and the challenges faced by the people who providing autism services sound familiar to me because the stigma is strikingly similar here and at home.
For example, some of Indian society believes autism is caused by bad parenting, while many Americans mistake autistic behavior for bad behavior and attribute it to bad parenting. Likewise, parents, regardless of nationality, can vacillate between two extremes when considering a future for their child who is on the spectrum — he or she will be a savant, or not have any kind of independent life at all.
Merry Barua, the director of Action for Autism, is creating the space in between where everyone with autism can contribute, learn, and belong. A mother who has an adult son with autism, she envisioned another path years ago and willed it into solid reality. Now, she runs an autism school in Delhi that offers student education, parental training, sessions and vocational training — programs that are now being replicated nationwide.
Action for Autism’s mission, messaging and service approach echo that of Easterseals, the organization I work for. So much so, in fact, that when we met Merry yesterday, I felt that I was meeting a kindred spirit, and I was right at home in her school. We champion the same cause and believe that everyone should have the opportunity to live their life to the fullest. And it was so inspiring to meet with the dedicated group here that are getting that job done.
As I get over the initial culture shock of being in Delhi, I am starting to see more similarities than differences.