The Story So Far!

This blog has been created for all the parents of children with Autism that are based outside of India/Pune are planning to return to live in India specially to the city of Pune. At the start there is some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that there are NO Autism Centers in Pune. At least no proper or real centers that is. They may have the words "Autism Center" in their name but that does not mean anything. We found that out the hard way but more on that a little later.

As parents of an Autistic child we want to inform other parents that are in the same situation like us of the ground realities here in Pune vis-a-vis Autism Centers so that they take more informed decisions about coming back here and know of the services on offer for their Special Children.

Now for the good news. Even though there is very little on offer for a Child with Autism here in terms of all-in-one centers there is on the other hand, we have found a good bank of Private Health Care Professionals that can help your child develop. Psychiatrists , Clinical Psychologists, Occupational Therapists e.t.c are available for one on one sessions. Getting a good set of people together was a challenge at first but 6 months after our daughter was taken out of an "Autism Center" we can now happily say that she is responding amazingly well to the team of therapists that we have put together for her.

One important point to note here is that if you are looking to leave your child at a place for a few hours everyday there is no place currently available here in Pune that has a team of Special needs care professionals that will work with your child on a daily basis. At best you have creche type places where the aayaa's or maids will out number the teachers. Most special needs teachers do not operate in Pune as the wages our paltry and working conditions very poor.

Mumbai (Bombay) being close by has created a greener pasture for these professionals as the salaries are better there and opportunities far better. Having said that Pune is changing. In fact it is currently one of India's fastest growing cities if not the fastest and this growth can be seen in all sectors, including health care and more importantly in Child Development areas. The bigger hospitals here in the city are realizing the true value in bringing good services to the special needs children and that it looks like this is going to be a key area of focus in the coming years.

Because, the Government will not do anything for Autistic Children in the city yet, it is a free for all for private entities or individuals to do what "good" they want to do. Mind you the "good" here is relative. As in one man's food could be another's poison.

So, the simple truth is this. One parent/guardian will currently be needed to go from one therapy session to another though out the week, as the true Autism Center here in Pune is still a distant dream.

In our next post we shall share with you the points that we feel will make an Autism Center a true place where children can develop and flourish to the best of their ability.