My First Autism Talk to Public

I made through the Autism Talk without tears !!

Somehow I managed to give my first talk on Autism in public in front of  250 people to a non-profit organization to raise Autism Awareness and Find R volunteers.

I thought I should put it on my blog also. Here it goes .........

Hello Everyone,

Past couples of years were life changing for me and my family. We discovered my nephew R who is 4 years old has Autism . I asked  if the organization can take on this Project to help R with Autism. A project which can help him lead normal life and show hope to other kids with Autism.

Since I just have 3 minutes I am going to keep this short and sweet , limiting to 4 simple questions.

First Question,What is Autism, Autism is a generic term for a group of complex disorders in brain development. These disorders are characterized in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication and repetitive behaviors..….Basically kids are lost in there world and has no interest in yours. They are not able to implement simple things from life like wearing your socks or raising your arms when putting on a tshirt.

Second Question,Why I am talking about Autism,  To raise awareness and ask for help !! We sometimes feel sorry for people who have kids with special needs. But did we ever think this can happen to any of us also. I never thought someone in my family will have a child with Autism. Autism has been declared epidemic by CDC in USA. 1 in 88 kids have autism,This number is 1 in 45 for boys. This means our generation/or newer generation should be worried or thinking even before having kids. There is no way to even detect that something is wrong with the child during pregnancy or even after birth. There are hundred different theories on cause and treatment for Autism but nothing proven.

Third Question,What does R have It took So many efforts, going in circles, disputes with insurance, pushing the doctors and searching on Google. Finally after 3 years doctors could diagnose R with Autism and Apraxia. Now Apraxia is another disorder which sometimes comes with Autism, where he does not know how to use his words. R is under multiple therapies, diet restrictions which may help to improve his symptons

I have known R from 4 years. I can count the number of times he called me aunt because they are none. I can count number of times he made eye contact with me, because they are 5. I can count number of times he hugged me because it’s just 1

Last Question,How can you Help.
R’s parents are running play-therapy which is associated with non-profit son-rise.org. They are looking for volunteers to run this play therapy. In this therapy program you have to spend time playing with R. You have to gain his trust,faith and show your love to bring him back to our world. This therapy program itself can take several years, but we are looking for 2-3 month commitment per volunteer . We need 12-15 volunteers per period. Play- therapy has treated lots of kids with Autism and the concepts are very similar to what has been offered in Parenting workshops like:-

Use positive,constructive, attitude towards your kids.

Don’t say NO and yell at them.

Gain there trust,Love and faith and they will come to you and I can go on forever to add to this list !!

R is now 4 years old and I ran 6 therapy sessions with R, After those sessions, He hugged me for first time and has made eye contact with me 5 times.

No prior experience is required for volunteering for this Play therapy !! We will need volunteers every 3-6 months. Anyone who can devote 2 hours every week even if it is for 2-3 months can volunteer. R’s parents will provide necessary training which is about 2 hours. Interested volunteers don’t need to bring anything just your love,devotion,patience,enthusiasm and positivity. Please help R to lead normal life and show hope to other kids like R  by taking on this project .

I have some flyers with me . For more information or flyers, you can contact me anytime, I will be here !!

Thanks !!