She took her four-year-old son to Boston Children’s Hospital, one of the best in the world and they told her to put him away, in an institution and have more children because he was severely autistic.
This was 30 years ago, when Jalaja Narayanan took her son to one of the best known children’s hospitals in the world, in the USA, where he was diagnosed with severe autism. “The doctors told me that my son Krishna was severely autistic and deaf and that he would never be able to comprehend human speech. I told them they were wrong because Krishna had sparkling eyes — a sign of intellect,” said Jalaja narrating her story and that of her son’s on the sidelines of the two day international conference on ‘Autism — The Future Defined’ in Bangalore on Friday.
The conference organised by the Rotary Club, Bangalore West, Information and Resource Centre, Basavanagudi and the Autism Society of India was launched on Friday morning.
Jalaja took the challenge and devoted herself to her son’s recovery.
“I couldn’t have allowed him to sink in his own world, sitting on the rocking chair in a corner. I had to pull him out. It was a very painstaking journey, with repeated sessions with Krishna, where I first introduced him to sound with the word ‘apple’. It took us several weeks before I introduced him to an apple and connected sound and visual. He was able to connect the two. From then on, we never looked back. Today, Krishna not only writes (he has published books on autism) but also reads; he is a voracious reader. He also talks, but only about things that he needs top convey,” said Jalaja. Krishna is 33. His recovery, according to Dr Rimland, founder of the Autism Society of America, is nothing short of a “miracle,” she added.
Early diagnosis, at eighty to nine months after birth and training, can help in the management of the disorder. “We have tailor made classes for the children because the individual levels and needs are different. We also train the parents because they are the care takers. What is important is that they should teach their child to ask and communicate,” said Jayashree Ramesh, director, Academy for Severe Handicaps & Autism.
At the inauguration, Principal Secretary, Department of Women and Child Welfare, Dr Shalini Rajneesh stressed on awareness on autism and the government schemes. Mr Rajendra Rai, Rotary District Governor of 3190 said autism has a global presence and the Rotary Club, which is committed to social service, would like to partner with the NGOs on autism.
The best part of the opening was Krishna’s speech read out by Jalaja, on an autistic’s search for career and life partner.

THEY SAY

* “My 43-year-old autistic daughter likes big functions because in small functions people stare at her and she is very sensitive.”
* “My 14-year-old son does not have a personality, which is why he doesn’t know how to present himself. I get frustrated looking at advertisements on parents speaking about their children’s achievements.”
* “My 17-year-old son doesn’t communicate with me because he doesn’t understand our language.”
* “They told me that I didn’t know how to discipline my son. People only find faults; they don’t understand.”

(Names of parents withheld on request)

KNOW THIS

What is autism?
“Autism is a neuro-developmental disorder; organic in nature where largely the functional aspects are affected. We don’t know the reasons behind the disorder hence it cannot be corrected. The only option is training, ” said Director, Academy for Severe Handicaps & Autism (Asha) Jayashree Ramesh. “In autistic people, the brain is wired differently hence they don’t respond to environmental inputs like others do. The trick is to find out what they respond to and train them accordingly. One-third of autistic children also have epilepsy which aggravates brain impairment,” said Dr MV Ashok, psychiatrist, St John’s Hospital.
Early signs and intervention
If your child is incommunicative; does not respond to you; is not comforted by you and is unable to interact socially; has stereotypical ritualistic activities, has poor co-ordination and eye contact, he or she could be autistic.
Early intervention, appropriate structured training and medication to manage epilepsy, associated behavioural problems & continuous monitoring.
Professional support
Nimhans, Spastic Society of India, ASHA, Karnataka Parents Association for Mentally Retarded Children, Information & Resource Centre.