Aarogya - The Wellness Site

Autism is a complex developmental disability that appears during the first three years of life. It is the result of a neurological disorder that affects communication skills. Autism is four times more prevalent in boys than girls.

Children and adults with autism have difficulties in verbal and non–verbal communication, social interaction, and leisure or play activities. The disorder makes it hard for them to communicate with others and relate to the outside world. In some cases, aggressive and/or self–injurious behavior could result.

Persons with autism may exhibit repeated body movements (hand flapping, rocking), unusual responses to people, or attachments to objects, and resistance to changes in routine.

A center for autistic children exists at Priyanj Ashiana (Telephone: +91 022 8841193), Sanket Building, Evershine Nagar, Malad (W), Mumbai. Here, children receive structured intervention on a one–to–one basis. A monthly parent enrichment program has also been recently started.

Rubina Lal, a lecturer at SNDT and chairperson of the advisory board of the above institute feels there is no awareness in our society about autism. She calls for Government intervention in bringing about better understanding among parents.

“The general public, psychologists and teachers need to be educated about autism. Children are rejected from special schools because of the complexity of the disorder. Most teacher training courses do not have autism as a component. Even some doctors are unaware of it, and hence unable to guide the child and parents in the right direction, she asserts”.

Anita Taheer spoke to a disabled girl who is not bitter about it. Eighteen–year–old Rashmi is a shy girl. She’s plump and wears glasses. She has a problem with her eyes – she looks in one direction, talks in another.

“I’m used to the unwarranted attention I get”, she says, even before I can find a decent way to ask her. She has a soft voice, without a trace of bitterness. I struggle to focus on her face and make eye contact. I’m not sure of having succeeded, but we do eventually connect at some level.

“I don’t like the way my mum fusses over me”, says Rashmi. “She reminds me that I’m the odd one out. Even boys at school don’t make me feel like a twerp. I have a couple of friends there and we hang out during the break”.

About her father, Rashmi says: “Dad’s fine, but mum gets to him sometimes. Then, he too behaves like I’m some kind of freak or someone from Mars who’s suddenly popped into the bedroom. At such times, I feel like running away, but I’m scared. I just go to the bathroom and cry!”

I feel sorry for Rashmi and manage to conceal it as much as I can. She’s smart, bright and incredibly well read. Besides, she has a knack for detecting pity a mile away.

“The only people I hate are the neighbors”, she reveals. “If they really cared, they’d not whisper ‘Poor child’ so loudly every time I walk past them. These aunties only need somebody to tut–tut about all the time. They don’t realize that I’m still around and can hear them”.

Rashmi, however, is happy planning her future. “I hope I’ll be a doctor some day. I have been working hard to clear the CPMT exams. I know I’ll be a good doctor. All my friends are trying to clear the entrance exams too”.

I steer the conversation towards boyfriends and marriage. Rashmi is clearly not interested. She’s content with her “Single” status for now. “My parents are so worried about my marriage that I don’t even think about it for a second. Any way, my priority is to become a doctor first”.

The worst period in a parent’s life is when the child falls short of parental expectations. It is hard to digest that your child may have a problem. Unwittingly, you are overtaken by waves of guilt. “I know many parents who have been unable to handle the situation and have gone into deep depression, thereby losing time in focusing on and training their child”, says Madhvi Kulkarni, mother of a mentally challenged girl.

Mental retardation is a condition of sub–normal intellectual and social development. It is often not recognized in children until they start school and lag behind. Most are not unusual in appearance. Only some can be identified early because they have trouble sitting, talking or walking.

“For parents, the first hurdle is acceptance it. Most waste time crying over why something extraordinary had happened to them. They need to change: Your child is special, not a liability. Caring for the retarded at home requires great patience and understanding. Counseling has helped many parents. However, one has to graduate beyond the cocoon called “Home” and help our children cope with mainstream society, a society that is usually hostile and insensitive” says Chitra Singh, mother of a normal child. “When I see mentally challenged people, I feel sad and sympathetic towards them. I know one should not have pity or compare them with others, but when I interact with them, I feel depressed to see them the way they are – humans like us and yet so different”, states Shilpa Javeri.

There are many who feel like her. “It is unfortunate, unknowingly they may harm another individual without knowing what they do. Some are hyper–active, they are on their toes, destructive and self–injurious”, says Sachin Joshi. Many among us feel depressed to have a mentally challenged child at home. But you will be surprised you have more than one reason to be proud of.

Aarti Menon, a mentally challenged teenager from Mehrauli, would like to own an airplane and pilot it! Asked whom she loves the most, she says with a smile, “Ma, Papa, Abhi, and Ba (mummy, papa, her brother Abhi and her grandmother)”. She hardly mentions anybody outside her home. They are her world. But she is willing to forge her way into an unknown world.

For some time now, international agencies have been warning about the rapid increases in the rates of diabetes and other chronic disease in Asian countries. Asia already accounts for a sizeable proportion of the world’s population with diabetes and the prevalence of diabetes in the region looks set to rise dramatically in the coming years. In addition, the age of onset of type 2 diabetes is moving downward. While the condition was historically diagnosed in people over age 65 years, nowadays type 2 diabetes in young adults is not unusual. Alarmingly, type 2 diabetes is now being diagnosed more frequently in adolescents and even young children. Tim Gill reports on this growing epidemic in Asia.