Build a Group home for 200 Indians with Autism

Action for Autism(AFA) is Twenty Five!!

Each one of you has contributed to the success of AFA!

Here we bring to you the highlights of the celebrations that has marked twenty five years of our journey.We are exited to share some of the events that have been celebrated throughout the year.

Highlights 2019

Big Bazar's Quiet Hour- Since April 2019 Big Bazar of Future Group  organises inclusive and conducive shopping for individuals on the spectrum.AFA has been instrumental in connecting  Big Bazar  with various autism organisations around India.

Success at Work Place-We would like to congratulate AM for completing five years with Lemon Tree Hotel.Congratulations to AA for being the proud bread winner of his family.

Gathered Leaves-We organised a staging of a play directed by the prominent theatre personality Faisal Alkazi of Ruchika theatre.Everyone enjoyed the dynamics that play in a family with the father and son on the spectrum.

Views from Planet Autism- 47 artists from India and south east asia showcased and earned from their art works at the nineth annual exebition by the people on sepectrum.

Update on Advocacy-AFA's team participated in national and international research and advocacy events and brain stormings.These included WHO's technical meeting,Geneva,INSAR annual meet,Canada,APAC Singapore and numerous meetings of the DePWD, NCERT amongst others.

Trainings at AFA-AFA trained over 1000 individuals by workshops in India and south east asia.In last September we received training from  Dr Brenda Smith Myles, an autism expert from the US.

Get ...Set... Go... AFA's Annual Sports Meet was organised for the children, adolescents and adults of AFA.

Coming back to Ananda, we are happy to share that the residents have found their home, a space where individuals with autism live and work with dignity and respect.Some lovely photos are attached here.

Thank you so much for your valuable contributions!

We wish you a happy and prosperous 2020!

Our Japanese volunteer compiled the wonderful works executed by our residents into an e-book and later held a conference where she presented her experience in using the art for emotional expression with persons with autism.

We welcomed two new residents who joined the assisted living program. One of them has very high support needs especially requiring physical support with all activities of daily living. The other resident who has a lot of great skills but also marked by the need to complete sets of actions, or verbal phrases repeatedly, and not able to proceed till he was done.  As a result, the execution of each of his daily living skills requires six or seven times the length of time actually required. What added to the challenge is that if any attempt were made to support him hand-on-hand through the task, he had the compulsion to conduct the same physical action back on the prompter.

All his activities through the day would get stuck in a loop. Any effort to break the loop ended up with him wanting to physically control the other person for an inordinate length of time. With patient and well thought out strategies the young person is now able to finish his tasks in half the earlier time and his verbal, as well as physical stims, have both come down.

We are delighted that both have settled down and are happy members of our expanding family.

In the last quarter, our residents at Ananda have shown a lot of progress in the process of their learning. Some high support need residents were having eating challenges. Our educators worked on it and through right interventions, they are now sitting on the dining table with fellow residents and educators and eating independently. Another resident who used to have occasional toilet accidents are now able to regulate him.

All residents have also learnt to follow their schedules and happily working in the vocational training unit which is inside the campus.

We are glad to share that we have a Japanese volunteer who is helping adults with the art classes. Now our adults are able to express themselves through art…

Ambar-the cottage at project Ananda was inaugurated on 25 February 2019 by Mr Shiv Kr Jatia of Asian Hotels North. Members of Asian Hotels and Action for Autism were present at the event. Ms. Merry Barua Director of AFA expressed her gratitude for the support extended by The Asian Hotels North and numerous other donors.

She said that it is the generosity of our donors which help us accomplish our mission for the cause.

Invited guests congratulated the team for their commitment and hard work.

Parents attended the inauguration expressed their happiness and hope on this project as at present very few of such facility is available in the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Over a period of a year, we have provided 100 nights of respite for a couple of adults.  Ananda has been set up like a home away from home where residents come for both short stay or a longer one. The main focus is to give them a homely feel yet providing the structure and predictability that these youngsters benefit from.Lot of visual supports are used to help the residents in doing things independently.  Various activities are planned and executed keeping these things in mind. Some of the activities that are done doing their stay are gardening, cooking, shopping, doing laundry, playing at outdoor, watching movies, going for a walk in the community etc.

In addition to this, we focused on intensifying the training of our team who are working and will be working directly with the residents. Under the various aspects of home management along with time training, behavioural management is being addressed. The main focus of the training is to create a bonding between the residents and those who are directly working with the residents. The training also emphasizes sensitizing to the needs of the young person with autism. It also includes but not limited to planning activities for the residents, helping the residents with activities of daily living skills etc