Bengaluru-based autism intervention trust Com DEALL celebrates 25 years

Bengaluru: A city-based non-profit focused on providing early intervention solutions for children with autism spectrum disorder is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a three-day event from November 7 to 9, at the Bangalore International Centre (BIC) in Domlur.

The Com Deall Trust's early intervention programme was started in 2000 on November 1. "The services for children with autism are few and far between and scattered across the country, even in a place like Bengaluru. As a trained speech pathologist, I had earlier worked with children with autism, and many parents had reached out to me to put together a programme to help the children because they were unsure where to go. That's when I put together a multidisciplinary, early intervention programme," Dr Prathibha Karanth, founder director and managing trustee of Com Deall, told DH, sharing the background of the initiative. 

Over the years, hundreds of children have enrolled and benefited from the programme, she shared.  A controlled study conducted scientifically, using evidence-based practice, has helped establish the program’s efficacy. 

The three-day event will kick off on Friday evening with the launch of a documentary and coffee table book on the organisation. It will be released by the chief guest Uma Mahadevan, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner. "We're also launching a mobile app because we thought it would help reach people in small towns and rural areas to raise awareness about autism and related disorders to help and facilitate early intervention. We've been working on the app for the last two and a half years. We've been using the app with multiple groups of children across the country, and the results have been positive," she added. 

As a part of the event, closed-door presentations and workshops will be held on Saturday and Sunday for professionals in the field. The public can access an art exhibition featuring the works of children with autism and informative stalls on early intervention at BIC, over the course of the three days. 

Inauguration on November 7, 5.30 pm, at BIC, Domlur.