Celebrating the unique gifts Autistic children are born with, we are sharing stories of significant progress made by children with Autism at DOSTI school. DOSTI is a unit of Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF), that has been working for the last 16 years to educate special children. DOSTI is among Uttar Pradesh’s first and still handful of schools to integrate children with physical, mental and learning disabilities in the age group of 2-21 years into mainstream education.

April 2 is recognised as World Autism Day and observed annually. Autism causes impairment in development, communication skills and social interaction and is difficult to diagnose before 24 months of age.

Arya was enrolled into school at the age of two where he had difficulty adjusting, but he never opposed going to school or any therapy center. He used to learn new concepts with more time but once he grasped, he wouldn’t make any mistakes in his class work. His mother Anamika says, “The only difference between me and my son is that we look at the world in different ways. His visual learning is very strong as compared to audio learning. The DOSTI team uses such interactive activity-based teaching methods that are helpful and important for Autistic children. This has helped Arya a lot.” She also adds “A child with a different ability uncovers strengths and abilities in you that you never knew you had. Having Arya has made me a stronger and wiser person and I no longer sweat on the small stuff. Perhaps I am the right person that is why God gifted me Arya.

Aarya has good balancing power, a sharp memory and is quite good at mathematics. At DOSTI school, he has shown interest in swimming, skating, cycling, horse riding, painting or singing, and has been performing really well.

Surabhi Kapoor, principal, Study Hall DOSTI, says “Every child has different needs and capabilities. We need to focus on the capabilities and help in their journey of progress and we have great support from our parents which is imperative for the child’s growth.” DOSTI school has an early intervention program and also provides vocational training and therapy to make children with special needs self

reliant.

Satvik Khanduri (14), was diagnosed with High Functioning Autism (HFA) at the age of six. At that time, he was studying in regular school where he did not show any improvements. He was later enrolled in DOSTI School, and through offline and online classes he improved in academics and co-curricular activities. Satvik has won second prize in Uttar Pradesh State skating championship of disabled children. Dr Shivangi katara, Satvik’s mother says, “We were elated when he got second prize. Sports training at DOSTI School, has been a great booster of self esteem and confidence and was a turning point in Satvik’s life. We as parents are happy with continuously improving graphs in all aspects of life and endeavour is to make Satvik self-independent and self reliable.”

Satvik loves sports and can converse well in English and can read story books and newspapers. He loves to participate in poetry recitations competitions. And now he has also started using computers and laptops.

“Arjun was only 18-months-old when he was diagnosed with high functioning Autism also called Asperger’s Syndrome. “Experts have said time and again that the involvement of the parents is one of the most important things for any child. I have always received amazing support from the teachers at DOSTI. But school can only do so much with the time they have. An autistic child needs structure, discipline, and interaction as much as any other child. There’s no question that it takes a child with autism a lot longer to learn almost anything. So I began by reinforcing his school lessons at home and visited his classroom regularly, and if Arjun could do something at school like hang up his bag or eat his snack without help, then I made him do it at home, too,” says Arjun’s mother.

Arjun (12) now enjoys the company of his classmates and also proudly calls one of them his “best friend. It took 3 years of shadowing and a lot of hard work for his  mother and his teachers  that Arjun is now doing very well at school on his own and requires only minimal assistance from an aide. He has developed a keen interest in painting and music and is progressing well.

He is mostly independent during activities and has an IEP designed by his remedial therapist and me.

The parent requests anonymity

Another student from DOSTI, who is equally intelligent if not more like any other kid of her age. She is an excellent pianist, singer and a music enthusiast. She loves to play with colors on canvas. Her mother, “It’s only her low social interaction which is more to do with low acceptance from people and society around, who treats autism as a taboo. But we need to educate people and raise awareness to create an inclusive space for every child. These kids have one or other special skills which God has blessed them with and as any parents we just need to identify their interest and help them live their passion.”

Since the outbreak of the COVID19 pandemic and the closure of schools, DOSTI and its special educators have been helping special children continue learning at home and supporting parents wherever required.