Here we have Rahul Bajaj from Nagpur, who has taken an initiative to spread awareness about Autism. Another step of yours Rahul, which becomes inspiration for all of us!
Title: Seven students unite for autism awareness Source: http://m.timesofindia.com/city/nagpur/Seven-students-unite-for-autism-awareness/articleshow/45622695.cms Article Text: NAGPUR: While autism is defined as a developmental disability, the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 does not recognize it so. As a result, it does not figure in the list of disabilities for most social security schemes and government policies for the welfare of the disabled. A group of seven students from the city took up the cause of those suffering from autism. As part of participating in the Harvard US-India initiative (HUII) conference to be held in January, an initiative called 'Bridging the Gap' that seeks to remove social taboos and popular myths about autism was started. Rahul Bajaj, Abhishek Naik, Sanya Deshmukh, Kasturi Thengdi, Sanskriti Babhulkar, Pushkar Godbole and Siddhant Bhosale would be presenting the work they have done under the project at the conference. "It would be difficult to find any disability which is as widely misunderstood or as widely prevalent amongst young children and adults across India as autism. Some people believe that autistic kids are only naughtier or difficult to handle, while others believe that they are exceptional geniuses like an Einstien or a Newton," said law student Rahul explaining the reason to choose to work for autistic children for the social impact challenge of HUII. The first and most important task that the group undertook was engaging in dialogues with mainstream education institutions. "Our objective is to make them understand that with the right amount of training and support, people with autism can compete on a footing of equality with their able-bodied counterparts. However, most schools feel these differently-abled kids must have their special schools, which is not true. We are acting as a connecting link between institutions and autism experts to fill knowledge gaps and share best practices," informed Pushkar, an engineering student. The group also involved some of the special schools in an attempt to figure out the specific challenges they are facing. Parents of autistic children, autism experts and special educators were all included in the process of ensuring that the skills of autistic people are fully tapped and they get a more socially active life. Social media platforms and other resources have also been utilized for this. "The ultimate aim is to enable kids with autism grow up into independent adults. Their biggest limitation is in terms of social interactions. So if they are isolated during school, the awkwardness will never go away. It was this thought that made us start interactions between 'normal' schools and special schools, sensitizing teachers as well as kids," said medical student Sanskriti. Though the initiative began for a competition, the group plans on continuing what they have started. "In fact, we wish for people to support the cause. The help can be in any form from spreading awareness to providing emotional and other support systems. We are even inviting people through our social networking pages to join the cause and pledge at least four hours a month for it," said CA student Abhishek Naik. -- Amar Jain. Website: www.amarjain.com Clean India Campaign: Let us also chip in! Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
