Hope for autism: How this Navi Mumbai youth became an artist because his parents didn’t give up

Hrishikesh Vispute with his mother. (Express photo by Narendra Vaskar)

“He did not have cerebral palsy, was not mentally retarded or physically impaired. Yet there were some repetitive patterns and extreme behaviours. Then I came across a pamphlet and the symptoms matched,” says Swati, who was then a laboratory technician at Sion Hospital, Mumbai. A series of tests, including a CT scan, confirmed that Hrishikesh had Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit HyperactiveDisorder (ADHD).

WHAT IS AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD)?

About one in 100 children have autism, says WHO, which affects their social communication and behaviour. However, every child need not be intellectually impaired. They are just not communicative and cannot easily express their needs. In fact, autism is seen not as an illness but as a neurodiverse experience, where the affected have a different way of processing their environment. Children with ASD have difficulty picking up cues to sustain conversation or play, have narrow areas of interest and may have difficulty focussing on tasks that they have no interest in. “In ADHD, the child has difficulty in focussing on tasks that need sustained attention but can communicate,” says Dr Archana Kadam, consultant developmental paediatrician, KEM, Jehangir Hospital, Pune.

HOW TO DEAL WITH AUTISTIC BEHAVIOUR

However, each child has a unique strength that parents need to work on, they being the primary care-givers. In Hrishikesh’s case, it was art. Swati noticed how her son would sketch the sun, flowers and butterflies on the walls of their home from his kindergarten years. Vijay observed that his son was a visual learner with a very sharp memory. Vijay would intentionally change the spelling of a word and Hrishikesh would quickly correct it even though he was not aware of its meaning. Dr Kadam advises parents to look out for tell-tale signs like speech delay, inability of the kid to gesture, express what they need, respond to their name or maintain eye contact. “Such kids may play by themselves but not with others, may fuss over food and clothes and flap their limbs about,” she says.

Classifying ASD, she explains, “A child with mild ASD (incidence of 40-45 per cent) may have lesser difficulties in social skills, processing issues but can be taught rules of social behaviour. They may have unusual strengths in skills like music, drawing, memory (in 10 per cent children),” says Dr Kadam. While both parents decided to enrol Hrishikesh in a special needs school, Swati gave up her job to monitor his speech and occupational therapy sessions. That’s how she learnt to deal with challenging behaviour. “Every tantrum has a purpose, so parents are taught to analyse the cause and modify it to prevent repeat behaviour. They are also taught to only change those behaviours that are socially unacceptable or harmful to the child or others,” says Dr Kadam.

HOW ART THERAPY WORKS

Art therapy worked for Hrishikesh, who found that abstract paintings were the best way of expressing himself. He completed his diploma in fine arts at Rishikesh Kala Mahavidyalaya, Panvel, which is affiliated with Sir J J School of Arts, and had an art tutor, Kiran Gunjkar. “Initially, it was difficult to make him sit still. But then he learnt to focus on his lines,” he recalls.

Art therapy works for autistic people as they don’t use speech to communicate at all. But they have competency in expressing themselves through other means. According to Gunjkar, art therapy helps autistic kids build a wide range of skills in a manner which may be more comfortable than the spoken language. It improves their ability to think symbolically, to recognise and respond to facial expressions and use their motor skills.

Gradually, Hrishikesh and his work won several awards and was featured among the works of neuro-diverse artists at NGMA.

HANDLING A CRISIS

Everything seemed to be going well except occasional bouts of epilepsy that Hrishikesh suffered as a side effect of medication. But nothing had prepared the family for Swati’s cancer diagnosis during the pandemic. “The only time I realised how deeply affected my child was when I was not home for three days,” Swati says. Hrishikesh went quiet during that period. “When I returned home, he simply told me ‘Mama, please don’t die’,” she adds. Swati could never have been happier. This was proof of how dedicated and loving support enabled their severely autistic son to express his feelings for the very first time.