Sayuri Dalvi, mother to Vihaan who suffers from autism, organises Awetism Run every year to spread awareness about the disorder
Sayuri Dalvi, 37, has been an athlete and running for past 12 years. When she found out that her son Vihaan has autism, she decided not to buckle but make life better for her only child. She also was keen on spreading awareness about the disorder and thus the 10 km Awetism Run was born. The run is held every year on April 2 when World Autism Awareness Day is observed.
“I started this run in 2013. It was a very small event back then. I and my son made medals at home for 70 people. It was a hit and I decided to organise this every year. ” Dalvi said.
With 500 registrations this year, the crowd sure have swelled. “Every year, we see people around 275 to 300 but today there was a large number of people,” Dalvi smiled post the run on Sunday.
She feels that it is important to spread awareness about autism among the kids. “We should go to more schools and talk to teachers. Not only about autism, information about all kinds of special needs children should be included in the school curriculum,” she added.
All special kids deserve a chance to study with the other kids. Most of the time children with autism get bullied and they find it difficult to cope with the routine curriculum, and hence, they drop put. “Though there are many special schools coming up, still these kids deserve a chance to study in regular schools. Through this run, I am trying to reach out to as many people as I can,” Dalvi said.
To motivate runners, a “super active” dog also completed 10 km-run with his owner. Anand Kane, who has been taking care of Coco since he was 12 days old, said, “This is the first time I got Coco to run the 10 km race. He was 8-month-old when he participated in his first run. He has done 4-5 km runs so far.” Soon to be three, Coco paces Kane every morning. “I take him out on odd days to help me pace my runs,” Kane said.
What is Autism?
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder and refers to a range of conditions identified by challenges with social skills, speech and nonverbal communication, repetitive behaviors, as well as by unique strengths and differences.
Types of Autism
Autism is a spectrum disorder. It is possible that one child may take routine education but the other child might have to go to a special institution. Autistic kids have trouble understanding language.
Treatment
There are different therapies such as occupational therapy, sensory integration which can help.
Spotting autism
“As we grow up, we try and deal with things that don't go the way we want but individuals with autism can't handle that,” said Dalvi. If the child is not making eye contact or isn't responding to his/her name, these are the early signs of autism. “As it is a social disorder related to language processing, some kids remain non-verbal, some might learn only one language. My son only knows English,” she adds.
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