Unravelling an enigma

"April 2 is World Autism Day and the drive to create awareness continues. Marathons are being run,art galleries are putting up exhibitions and concerts are being held...

“April 2 is World Autism Day and the drive to create awareness continues. Marathons are being run,art galleries are putting up exhibitions and concerts are being held all in support or awareness of so many issues but none as yet in support of or to increase awareness for autism,feels Dr Sameer Saxena,who is also a father of an autistic child.

Saxena has been making constant efforts to bring about a change in the attitude and approach of people. He also runs a home school for autistic children under the auspices of a trust Srujan Educational Foundation .

Explaining about autism,he says,It would suffice to say that autism is basically an information processing neurological disorder that causes the development and consequent behaviors of a child to differ in certain ways than that of normal( neurotypicals ).

Parents usually notice signs in the first two to three years of their childs life. The brain development is chiefly characterised by impaired social interaction and communication and by restricted and repetitive behaviors. People on the autistic spectrum have difficulty making sense of the world and do not follow the same roles of socialisation and communication that come naturally to others. Noted autistic Temple Grandin described her inability to understand the social communication of neurotypicals leaving her feeling like an anthropologist on Mars.

Newton,Beethoven,Mozart,Einstein,Bill Gates ,Edison ,G B Shaw and many others are speculated to be on the autistic spectrum . They would qualify as autistic savants (genius with extremely IQ levels but with characteristics of autism ).

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