Pune
On April 2, the World Autism Awareness Day, unlike other parents, Uddhav does not despise the day but rather recalls thirteen memorable years of his life with his son Saurabh.
Updated : Apr 03, 2015, 12:46 PM IST
“Early detection and quality treatment helped to improve my child’s condition,” said P Uddhav, father of an autistic teenager while talking with iamin.
On April 2, the World Autism Awareness Day, unlike other parents, Uddhav does not despise the day but rather recalls thirteen memorable years of his life with his son Saurabh.
As the father-son duo celebrates the day at Prasanna Autistic Centre in Shivaji Nagar, Uddhav narrates how his child is special to him. “Till two years of age, Saurabh showed delayed response towards sound so we took him to a hospital. When the doctors in Pune could not detect the problem we went to Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai where we were told that he had autism. Initially, we were worried thinking what will happen to his future. It was later that we realised that there is nothing to worry and that his future will just be fine,” Uddhav smiled.
Prasanna Autistic Centre teaches nearly 100 autistic children, between the age groups of 7 to 12 years and 13 to 17 years. At the centre, the children are taught pre-vocational as well as vocational courses.
Uddhav stresses on the significance of providing complete attention to autistic kids. “We admitted Saurabh in school when he turned seven. There, he started learning figures and actions to express small things like hunger and thirst. Now his communication has improved so much that he can easily tell us what he wants or feels. Moreover, he is getting better at creating art. This happened only because my wife and I along with school teachers provided complete attention to Saurabh,” Uddhav added.
When iamin contacted Sadhana Godbole, managing director, Prasanna Autistic Centre, she said that at the institute children are taught to engage in several activities. Godbole said, “Children over 12 years of age are taught to make paper bags, candles, gift boxes and handicrafts. Many parents worry about their child’s future. We ensure that each child aces in some activity which can be useful in his life in the future.”
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