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Adhiraj is a 30-year-old resident of Uttarayan Residential Center, Arambagh. For the past 14 years, URC has been more than just a residence for him – it has become a second family and home.
He is an avid foodie, loves to socialize, is passionate about music, and plays on the keyboard. And, he has terrible mood swings, which is characteristic of autism spectrum disorder. If you meet him for the first time, he will ask you your name and where you live. This information will be retained in his memory longer than you can imagine. Only when you talk with him for some time, you will realize that he is actually a small child, inside the build of a young man!
At birth, physically he was just like any other normal baby, except for a cyst near the armpit, which was later removed by surgery at the age of one. When he was two, we noticed that he could speak, but could not communicate with others, even with us. He used to play with himself most of the time. He enjoyed the company of other kids, but would not mix with the group. It was as if he had a world of his own.
We consulted psychiatrists early on, suspecting that he was different. He was diagnosed with borderline Autism and treatment was initiated. Doctors advised for regular schooling because whatever potential he had, would not be nurtured in a “special” school. As parents of a single child, it was initially quite hard for us to accept that our child had mental retardation. However, we prayed and doctors gave us hope that he may become normal with age.
When he was 5, we moved to Bahrain. We admitted him to a CBSE board school, where he studied from kindergarten to the 7th standard. We were in regular contact with his teachers. There were no complaints other than lack of attention and childishness. His classmates, who grew up along-with him, accepted him as he was and used to help him as well. Everyone loved him because he was playful, fun-loving and friendly. At home, I tutored him throughout, and he scored quite well in class. He had interest in certain uncommon things which was generally not found with children of his age. His favourite pastime was to memorise from an English dictionary and a thesaurus. He had to discontinue schooling after the 8th standard, because the stress of studies was too much for him to bear.
We had been advised by doctors to identify his potential and areas of interest, and help him to develop on those. We had noticed from his early childhood that he had an ear for music, loved melodious bengali adhunik songs with Hemanta Mukherjee, Salil Chowdhury and Manabendra among his favourites. He started learning the keyboard when he was 10 years old, and still continues to do so.
He has proudly represented Uttarayan at several cultural events by delivering impressive keyboard performances, garnering praise and accolades.
The essence of Adhiraj’s journey so far is that, when autistic children receive loving support and encouragement for their interests, it can have a profoundly positive impact on their self-esteem.
Please do visit his youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/@adhirajdas1328
ADITI DAS
Mother of Adhiraj
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