National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Intellectual Disability and Multiple Disability, a statutory body under Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India organised ‘Autism Conclave’ at National Institute of Social Defence (NISD), Dwarka, New Delhi on 30th may 2023 in which various experts, professionals, role models and parents of persons with Autism participated. The conclave was inaugurated by Sh. Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) and persons in the field like Dr. Sheffali Gulati, Head, Child Neurology Department, AIIMS, Delhi, Dr. Nimesh Desai, Senior Consultant Psychiatrist and Former Head IBHAS, Delhi, Ms. Merry Barua, Action for Autism etc. participated. The conclave was attended by more than 120 Professionals, Parents of persons with Autism and Experts.
The Secretary, DEPwD in his inaugural address said that Awareness, Accessibility and Affordability are the 3 factors which need to be addressed in order to improve the quality of life of Divyangjan. He emphasized the need for convergence among all departments of DEPwD working in the sector. He also said that the phrase ‘ Nothing about us without us’ is very much relevant for making any initiative for Divyangjan, as they are the real persons who can give input about their need.
The main highlight of the conclave was the speech given by Mr. Tarun Paul Mathew, a non-verbal teenager with Autism, Typer- Communicator and Free thinker and Ms. Rakshita Shekhar, a person with Autism and a Purple Ambassador. Mr. Tarun Paul expressed his views by writing whiling Ms. Rakshita Shekhar informed that she made her speech by collecting views of several Persons with Autism.
Dr. Shefali Gulati, Head, Child Neurology Dept., AIIMS Delhi informed about various global research taking place in Autism and said that alongwith taking care of Persons with Autism, there is a need to take care of Parents also, who often develop neurological issues while caring their child. Dr. Nimesh Desai, Consultant Psychiatrist and Former Director, IHBAS Delhi shared his long experience on working with Persons with Autism and said that different way of thinking of these persons need to be educated to the community so that these persons are integrated in the society. Ms. Merry Barua, Director, Action for Autism, Delhi stressed the need for community awareness on the issue. Col. (Dr.) Aparajita Gupta, Associate Professor, Army Hospital Delhi said that Persons with Autism have hidden talents which need to be recognized by all of us.
Other speakers also expressed similar views and requested the audience to sensitize the community on the special characteristics of Persons with Autism. The experts also said that Parents of these persons should not shy on taking their children outside their house and trained them to associate themselves with their peers and in the community.