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| Soumitra Chatterjee at the AHEAD event. (Arnab Mondal) |
The students of AHEAD, a rehabilitation and research institute for autistic and other special children, celebrated World Autism Day with a cultural programme and a short walk. Actor Soumitra Chatterjee was present to support the cause.
The morning started with the children singing and dancing in front of beaming parents on the AHEAD campus at Golf Green. Draped in blue saris, 14-year-old Sapna Das and 19-year-old Juli Mukherjee danced to Akash dake aaj amare. Some students played the drums and khanjani while others joined their teachers in singing. The students and teachers also participated in an awareness walk around the neighbourhood.
“I have seen AHEAD grow and have always stood by them because of the lovely work they do. They have proved that if you have the will you can do it,” said Chatterjee, who has been attending the annual event for 34 years. “Everybody is born with some disability, so none should be stopped from joining the mainstream.”
Apart from grooming special kids, AHEAD also gives parents a platform. “Parents of autistic children need to relax and exchange notes. That is why we involve parents in all our activities,” said Swati Basu, a teacher.
Autism awareness
It is alright to be odd — this was the message from Autism Society of West Bengal on World Autism Awareness Day.
The day’s programme began with a rally from Golpark to Rabindra Sarovar, followed by a poster-making competition for underprivileged children and finally a seminar. The commissioner of disability, Mita Bandopadhyay, and assistant commissioner S.S. Binayak were the chief guests.
“As a parent, you worry about what will happen to your child when you are not around. Also, how long does patience last? The belief system gives way to a sin syndrome some time or the other. You begin to think what did I do wrong that this happened to me? It is a very depressing situation,” said Indrani Basu, the director of the Autism Society of West Bengal and mother of two boys with autism.
