Smiles to go before I sleep

“The experience made me realise that all that I knew about autism was purely theoretical. The agony of the boy and his parents affected me deeply,” Dr Singh recalls. She quit her job and for the next three years took up specialised training in treatment of autism in New Delhi.

She returned to Mumbai and started Khushi,a centre for autistic children,in a modest structure in Borivali.

Khushi began as a small initiative with a few experts holding group therapy sessions for autistic children. It was not registered at the time and was funded by well-wishers,friends and relatives.

Dr Singh had some moving experiences along the way.

“The mother of a ten year old boy who used to come to Khushi took me aside and told me something I can never forget. She said she had once taken her son to the balcony of a building to jump. What held her back was her thought; what if one of them survives? That was when I knew that I was going to keep working in this field all my life,” she says. Dr Singh then started intensive individual therapy for autistic children and the boy,now 16,has improved considerably.

Parents of some of Dr Singh’s patients introduced her to corporate consultants,who chided her for the losses she incurred every year,so much so that,more than once,her CA advised her to shut down the organisation. In 2010,Khushi became a registered NGO and started approaching corporate houses for sponsorship.

The same year,it organised a talent hunt for autistic children. The results were astounding with children showing amazing skill. Some parents introduced her to fitness trainers for autistic children,who now regularly train her patients.

“We thought of organising a similar talent hunt but later hit upon an idea to promote awareness on autism. We decided to organise a marathon with both normal and autistic people participating. This way,many people would know what autism is and how it affected children. The ‘Cause-A-Thon’ was held on March 31,ahead of World Autism Day,April 2,” says Dr Singh.

Three years ago Dr Singh lost her father to cancer.

“On the deathbed,my father was smiling as he held my hand. He told me he was proud of what I was doing,and made me promise I would never stop or else when I die,I will have to answer him. That is why I can never give up,” Dr Singh says.