‘Inclusion means an action, state, practice or policy of providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people who are otherwise marginalised due to physical or intellectual disabilities besides others.’ — Oxford Dictionary

Differently-abled youth are usually shunned by society due to medieval thinking, more so in rural areas of India. Embarrassed parents tend to keep them behind locked doors from childhood. How long will they live on the fringes of society’s outer circle?

India needs ‘Inclusion for autistic youth’ in all walks of life — education, job opportunities, sports, arts, technology, etc., at an affordable or free cost. Currently, education costs alone hit the roof, and many parents cannot help their children to progress. Society must take a call to provide viable socio-economic solutions by including them in its inner circle. Autistic youth also have goals and aspirations which are achievable.

Joanne (15) and Brydan (13) Rodrigues, teenage children of Janice and Bryne Rodrigues, were born in Sharjah, U.A.E. The Rodrigues family moved to India in 2013. Both children were detected to be on the autism spectrum. The major decision of moving was for their children’s progress, as limited resources were available in UAE for autism at that point of time.

One step at a time, their parents started working relentlessly, with guidance from therapists, teachers and senior parents, to enable their children to cope with daily challenges. They began looking at the world through their children’s eyes and changed their thinking patterns. This, in turn, allowed them to channelize their children into sports.

Joanne and Brydan have won several accolades, creating a ray of hope for autistic children. Both have entered the Guinness Book of World Records for Skating (Bengaluru, 2019). They are also deep sea swimmers and were a part of The Special Olympics, Bharat.

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Adhara is a little girl from Mexico who is attending college in the U.S. at the early age of 10. Her IQ stands at 162, higher than Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking whose IQ were both 160. Adhara learned reading and Algebra at the age of three; presently she’s pursuing two degrees in Mexico — Systems Engineering at CNCI and Industrial Engineering with a focus on Maths at UNITEC. Adhara aims to become an astronaut and build a habitable colony on Mars.

Although life hasn’t always been a smooth sailing, with determination and family support, Adhara was able to overcome the various obstacles in her path. At age three, she was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome which makes social interaction difficult. Growing up in a regular school was not easy as she was constantly made fun of and harassed by her classmates. At times during classes, she even fell asleep accompanied by signs of disinterest in the current school curriculum. Regardless of these behavioural aspects, Adhara loved studies, and to pass her time, she memorized the entire periodic table!

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