WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS DAY

He had repeated facial expressions and unintentional constant motion of his hands and feet. His hearing was very sensitive and intense and loud sounds made him feel physically sick. At other times he was excessively active.  He was unable to carry on an intellectual conversation and existed in a careless and reckless way with impolite and frequent mood changes. 

Do you know whom the above paragraph describes? Maybe this piece of classical music will help you think...

Did you get the answer? His picture is right here in the frame above. The paragraph above was about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the 18th century composer of major symphonies, concertos, operas and even Masses... 

Autism affects approximately 1 out of every 150 children around the world. It is a neural development disorder that affects their ability to socialize normally by impacting their abilities to utilize verbal and non-verbal communication.

And Mozart is not the only famous person to have been afflicted with the condition. The list includes writers, scientists, painters and even a President of the USA. 

Today is World Autism Awareness Day as designated by the United Nations - a day to help build aware about autism and to work for the inclusion of autistic persons in the regular circles of society and life. 

Autism affects approximately 1 out of every 150 children around the world. It is a neural development disorder that affects their ability to socialize normally by impacting their abilities to utilize verbal and non-verbal communication. 

Even today we find geniuses among autistic individuals, if only we give them a chance. Check this out...

Do you know anyone who has an autistic child? If you know someone in India, then you possibly can help them get the support that they need from the Forum for Autism. This forum of parents has support from Ambassadors like Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and sports commentator Harsha Bhogle and their families. 

A friend of mine from college and his wife - Ravi and Chitra Iyer - are active promoters of the Forum and support the various initiatives of the Forum. Chitra has summed up some of her experiences in World Autism Day: A Mother’s Struggle From Heartbreak To Hope.

While studying in primary school, there was a boy in my class who had a lot of difficulty learning and communicating. At the end of the year, we moved on while he was held back in the same class. Years later, there was an initiative in our parish to set up a school for Special Needs children. On one occasion, while in secondary, we were taken for a visit to the Special Needs school and there was this boy who was once in the same class as me, a student in the school. 

It is an absolute delight to see the enthusiasm and the talent of these children showcased at the various events conducted by the Church community at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Chembur. This picture was taken at a Family Fun Fair event organised in December 2015 where the students put up an excellent dance performance. Further a stall was set-up to sell the artistic creations of the students from the school.

The theme of this year's observance of World Autism Awareness Day is “Autism and the 2030 Agenda: Inclusion and Neurodiversity”. The invitation to us is not to wait till 2030, but to do our part in spreading awareness about autism so that patients may be more easily accepted and included in our society.