Autism? Like many others this word was French to me and my wife.In the year 1997 my daughter was born and we were very delighted and happy to be parents.Right from her birth my daughter had health problems like constipation,fever etc.However after 5-6 months I felt something amiss when my daughter Radhika was not responding like any other child of her age.My wife disagreed and I hoped that everything would be fine.

Radhika failed to speak even after being 1 and ½  years.During this time we went to Ahmedabad-my wife was  a ahmedabadi before shifting base to Mumbai-india after marriage.My sister-in-law observed that radhika was not behaving like any other normal child of her age.She new better since she had  brought up a daughter and was experienced.she suggested me to show radhika to a doctor.Immediately after reaching Mumbai I did some followup and decided to show radhika to the best doctor in town at P D hinduja Hospital-Mahim,Mumbai.

After doing various tests and some tests needed radhika to be put on sedation we got various reports after few days.We reached Hinduja hospital with prior appointment  with all radhika’s reports.After  studying the reports the doctor asked us do you “ Autism”.

We said we had no idea and the doctor informed that radhika is an autistic child  and went on to explain about autism.This was like a jolt to both of us and as we were following upon the formalities my first thought lik any other average individual was why with us?

With some experience in bringing up Radhika I can share with you some information about Autism. Autism is a brain development disorder characterized by impaired socialinteraction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior.These signs began before a child is three years old and in radhika’s case we diagnosed it at about two years..Autism affects many parts of the brain and how this occurs is not understood.The Autism spectrum disorders(ASD) also includes the related conditions Asperger Sundrome and PDD-NOS  Which has fewer signs and symptoms.ASD has a strong genetic basis although the genetics od autism are unclear.The prevalance of ASD is about 6 per 1000 people, with about four times males as compared to females.The number of people having autism is drastically increased in the 80’s partly due to changes in the diagnostic practises. It is distinguished not by a single symptom, but by a characteristic triad of symptoms: impairments in social interaction; impairments in communication; and restricted interests and repetitive behavior. Other aspects, such as atypical eating, are also common but are not essential for diagnosis. People with autism have social impairments and often lack the intuition about others that many people take for granted. Three- to five-year-old autistic children are less likely to exhibit social understanding, approach others spontaneously, imitate and respond to emotions, communicate nonverbally, and take turns with others. Contrary to common beliefs, autistic children do not prefer being alone. Making and maintaining friendships often proves to be difficult for those with autism. About a third to a half of individuals with autism do not develop enough natural speech to meet their daily communication needs.Some Autistic persons have very high intelligence whereas some are mentally retarded.Autism with mental retardation is complex and difficult to manage.

There is no cure to treat Autism since the cause is not understood properly.

Let me tell you about Radhika-Radhika is a beautiful young girl of 12 years age and will be a teenager shortly.She cannot speak and can utter only few words we tell her to speak like mummy,pappa,babu,Aaji etc.She communicates by guiding our hands.Let me share with you the daily routine of Radhika.She sleeps well and does not like to speak alone on the bed.She is very fond of TV programmes like pogo,9XM nad likes to listen to bollywond songs from fm on mobile.She has to be given a bath-my gives her bath everyday and is very obsessive about eating.She likes to eat snacks like wafers,chivada,farsan and likes chocolates and icecream..She has to be helped in eating regular lunch and dinner.She is at home for the whole day.Few years back radhika attended school at Sairam Autistic School at kalachowkie,cottongreen.Now she is grown up and the maid who was helping her is ill hence radhika spends her time at home.She likes to go out and also can do some colour painting on computer.For many years we use to bring medicines for radhika from Dr.Oswal at pune.He gives homeopathic medicines.However Radhika did  not show any apprciable improvement.Please not Dr oswal charges created a big hole in my pocket.Radhika laughs or cries sometimes without any reason and is on her feet running throughout our flat.She shows love to us and to her younger brother rohit who is a normal child of eight years.She is absolutely nonviolent and  only beats herself if we do not satisfy her eating demands.I tell my son that Radhika is a Gods child and I firmly believe that god has sent radhika in her family with a purpose.I will share with you when the mystery unfolds to me.

My only objective till then is radhika should become a self indpendent adult.

Parents of autistic children can share their success stories so that parents can learn from each other.

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