Parenting a special child can be a stressful and exhaustive affair. As caregivers of the child’s needs 24x7, the parents also become their best therapists. But are they equipped with the right information? This question inspired Shilpi Mayank Awasthi, parent to seven-year-old Yuvaan Awasthi, an autistic child with Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to create a ‘saathi’ (friend in Hindi) to help and support other parents of children with special needs, in the form of a portal and resource hub SpecialSaathi.

Formally registered as Yuvaan Research Foundation, SpecialSaathi has blogs, webinars, resource materials, talks and shorts, podcasts, video lessons, and information collated by trusted professionals. It also holds offline awareness sessions at primary schools, colleges and offices. With an aim to raise awareness, undo negative stereotypes and promote community support, the two-year-old portal has content on neurodiversity, multiple disabilities, wellness and mental health.

Shilpi Mayank Awasthi | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Awareness sessions

Shilpi at an awareness session | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

After her son’s diagnosis and early intervention, she realised Yuvaan, despite being a high-functioning neurodivergent, was a quick learner. Since he had a high academic score she enrolled in a mainstream school in Noida in 2022 and conducted an awareness program with Dr Sonali Kataria Sirohi Sunrise Learning Foundation, senior special educator Praval Yadav and autism advocate Sonia Jaitley to explain neurodivergence and the basic classroom support teachers can offer these children, “When a teacher greets a child, he/she has to wait for at least two seconds so that the child processes it and greets back.”

That phase was an eye-opener, recalls Shilpi, who saw huge gaps in how information is disseminated. “We saw a stark rise in children getting diagnosed in the spectrum, so much so that parents were in shock and needed counselling first and guidance from trusted resources.” They had similar questions: Which school is best for my child, inclusive or mainstream? What are the various teaching methods required to aid learning, especially in Maths and English? Who will take care of the child after us?

Also, their questions about behaviour management and modification techniques in support groups inspired her to launch a portal which collated information from trusted professionals.

From diverse fields

Resource persons from diverse fields — autism advocates, speech and language therapists, occupational and physical therapists, special educators, mental health coaches, psychologists, play therapists, wellness coaches, expressive art forms coaches, AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) trainers and learning disabilities therapists — either volunteer , come through references or Shilpi contacts them on social media platforms. Some professionals from firms in the USA work in fields related to disability and promote their content on the website. Lessons and playlists include information from special educators on communication, speech, language, special education and occupational therapy.

Group play program. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

While Shilpi gets help from volunteers to organise sessions, she handles the website’s marketing and technical work. A microbiologist and Aptech-certified computer professional, she uses her computer knowledge (she discontinued her MCA from IGNOU) and corporate sector experience for business, strategy planning and digital marketing.

SpecialSaathi’s expansion plans include skill development, computer literacy, sports and a job portal for children with special needs. “If a parent can apply one technique mentioned in our portal effectively on their child or if a mother feels light and empowered after talking to me or watching our webinars/videos and if we are able to bring countless smiles on the faces, we feel blessed. If a specially-abled child is able to make a little progress, due to our endeavours, it is an accomplishment for us . We receive feedback posts, mails from many parents and this makes our commitment towards our work strong.”