To create wind for their wings

 It is not easy raising an autistic child, but Anima Nair is determined to do more, observes Ambika Ananth.

Special children seem out of step with the world around, but if we understand that they are walking to the beat of a different drum, we will see that they are unique, distinguished and are not in any way less privileged to enjoy their rightful place in the world. 

Anima Nair is a mother who dared to dream and willed that the dream come true. A dream to find a rightful place for her autistic son, Pranav. She envisaged a better world for him to cope with and live in, and so, she let go of her IT profession to be a stay-at-home-mom, to be the mainstay of her son, and started creating avenues to pursue that dream.

The painful reality that her child has autism hit her with an unbelievable force, but she decided to fight the bone-numbingly wearisome journey. This is the story of Anima Nair’s journey, from being a diffident, stressed-out mother to becoming a founder and director of ‘Sense Kaleidoscopes’, which is a progressive rehabilitation vocational arts organisation and a pedagogical e-learning centre for children with autism and learning difficulties. 

Anima explains, “Ever since my son Pranav was diagnosed with autism, the condition has become a huge part of my life. Autism is not easy to live with. No one can know how tough it is for the affected person to survive in a world that is patently designed for people other than them. To autistic kids, the world is too noisy, too bright, too fast, too confusing. Language may sound like cacophony. It is like living in a bubble through which sounds, sights, smells and even touch are distorted… So disconnected is the world of autism.”

But once Anima decided to accept and handle things, her perspective changed, and with renewed energy, she moved forward to find a solution. The first thing she decided do to was to stop paying money to schools that did nothing for her son’s condition. A chance meeting with Akshyee Shetty, who studied and worked in Glasgow with autistic kids, and who believes that visual art helps autistic kids a great deal, made many things fall in place, naturally. Pranav, who was enrolled in Akshayee’s class, started showing positive signs of interest and joy, which made Anima trust Akshayee’s gentle way of handling children with spectrum disorders. 
Pranav is now 14 years old. He has seizures, sensory issues and no friends. He gets very upset when he cannot express himself and bursts into heartbreaking tears. But he is always happy, and extremely empathetic; his ability to feel others’ pain makes him seem like the unlikeliest candidate for autism, since autism, by definition, means ‘lost in one's own world.’ He has a great sense of direction and loves melodious music. Though his comprehension is nowhere near that of his peers, he is bright, cheerful and extremely willing to please. 

The next very big step which Anima took was to partner with Akshayee, to start a Trust called ‘Ayathi’, which means ‘hope’ in Sanskrit. It was a coming together of two strong women, who believed in caring for autistic children.

 Studentsstarted joining in, purely by word of mouth. “Parents found our approach unique and dedicated. We got the unwanted kids - the fifteen year olds, the eighteen year olds, the ones that no one was willing to touch, even with a ten-foot stick!” says Anima. 

In January 2013, they founded the organisation that stands for belief in the autistic child. Under its banner, Anima and Akshayee identify the strengths and weaknesses of the children faster and tighten the whole process of getting them ready for vocational training for the future of earning a living.
Says Anima, “The children who come to us have already lost a lot of time and therefore, we try to make it up by giving them complete attention and guidance. Screen printing, carpentry, data entry, software training, visual arts training, cooking and horticulture are taught, along with remedial academics for those children who have higher brain functioning.” Sense Kaleidoscopes recently held a very successful and highly appreciated art exhibition, in Bangalore, called Shards of Brilliance, where the artwork by the autistic children was showcased. 

Sense Kaleidoscopes is not funded and resources are tight. Yet, Anima and Akshayee try their best to make small money to keep these children going. Because as Anima puts it, “Their wings are not built for the wind, so it is upto us to create wind for their wings.”