Can a person with autism spectrum disorder live an independent adult life? The simple answer to this question is yes but every autistic child is not able to attain that level of independence. Some have to be subjected to life-long care and support. Autism affects every aspect of a child’s life, right from schooling and higher studies to prospects of getting employed. Parents are often left wondering how to go about it with the behavioral disorder as very little information is available about it in spite of the World Health Organization saying that about one in 160 children has Autism. That is not a very small number and yet few people are aware of the details surrounding autism. Parents often do not know what to do.
Pramod Mishra, the founder of Autism Parents Forum, has been trying his best to bridge the information gap. In a talk with ETimes, he spoke about how parents should keep an eye out for early signs of autism, like poor eye contact, texture aversion, speech delay, repetitive solo play and ignoring danger and consult a development pediatrician immediately if any of the symptoms are noticed. He advised guardians to join his own Autism Parents Forum in order to interact with other parents having children with autism after the diagnosis.
Asked about whether the current education scenario for children with autism is inclusive enough, he said there are special schools that are both inclusive and exclusive. As required by law, inclusive education takes place alongside regular education, with additional support from regular schools. However, the drawbacks lie in the lack of specialist instructors and inclusive infrastructure. He also added that the staff are not trained mostly to take care of students with special needs. He blamed the social stigma around mental health for this.
Pramod appealed to the parents to make their autistic children as independent as possible and tutor them with daily tasks in a simplified way. He talked about how his forum held regular webinars by experienced professionals and therapists for parents through www.autismparentsforum.com. The forum also arranged online consultations for parents residing in remote places and connected parents over various social media platforms where they can freely discuss their personal experiences with their children without any apprehension. He said that there were about 15,000 parents from pan India and abroad who had joined his forum.
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