Parents of autistic kids need counselling to accept condition, aid therapy, say doctors

Diagnosed with autism three years ago, seven-year-old Devansh Das from Goregaon found therapy in his mother’s passion for music.

Every day from 7 pm to 9 pm, Devansh takes singing lessons from his mother who is a trained classical singer.

His parents are still surprised about he showed fondness for singing and developed the skill over time as he has speech problems.

Autism, or autism spectrum disorder, refers to a range of conditions characterised by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviour, speech and non-verbal communication, as well as by unique strengths and differences.

“A year before he was diagnosed with autism, he had started repeating words that my husband and I said. Sometimes, he said things that had no meaning,” said Devyani,36, his mother. “However, in the evenings when I practice music, he would patiently sit next to me and observe,” she added. Now, Devansh plays the tabla and sings classical Bengali songs by Shipra Basu and Kaushiki with great ease.

Dr Pradnya Gadgil, consultant paediatric neurologist at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Andheri, who diagnosed Devansh with mild to moderate autism said that his condition has seen a ‘phenomenal improvement’ over time. “A lot of parents whose children are diagnosed with autism, valuable time goes in denial,” she said.

Dr Gadgil added that many autism therapy centres in the city still do not recognise ‘parent counselling’ as an important entity in the course of a child’s therapy.

“The counselling sessions have to go beyond the realms of talking about ‘autism’. It needs to give parents the space to voice their day to day frustrations and struggles,” she added.

Dr Anjali Joshi, an occupational therapist associated with the NGO Forum for Autism said that parents with autistic children tend accept their child’s condition better if they connect with other parents of autistic kids. “There was a parent who was in denial about her child’s autism for months but found some courage to talk about his condition when she interacted with parents who had similar stories to share,” she said.

47-year-old man from Manore who was arrested for allegedly raping his two minor daughters hanged himself using his pants at a police lockup in Palghar on Saturday.

“We suspect he committed suicide as he was ashamed of his act. We are still investigating,” Nimit Goel, deputy superintendent of police, Palghar

The incident came to light when an on-duty policeman found the man’s body handing from the bars of the lockup at 6:30 am. He was taken to the Rura Hospital, Satpati, where he was declared dead on admission, said the police.

Goel ordered an inquiry and hinted that some police person nel who were on night duty at the police station could face actions