Karan is a strapping 17-year-old boy, who was diagnosed at the age of 3 years with Autistic Spectrum Disorder. His mother, Adita, is his primary care-giver and until September 2009, had the support of her daughter, Devina. When Devina moved to the UK for higher studies, Adita took care of all his needs on her own. Devina returned to Dubai in 2011 – where Karan and Adita are based – and was shocked to find he had grown taller than her.

Karan is low-functioning on the autistic scale and is non-verbal (for the uninitiated, that means he cannot communicate through words although he is able to make unintelligible sounds). He can be quite hyper-active (sometimes to the annoyance of his sister), yet has times when he is amazingly calm. He loves to be hugged, which opposes the stereotype of autistic people who don’t want to be touched. When he learned how to eat on his own with a spoon, we all whooped with joy.

Autism and Us is a chance for Adita and Devina to talk about and share her experiences about life with Karan.

It’s not all Rain Man, you know.

If you’d like to get in touch with me, please email autism[at]devinadivecha[dot]com.