A group of children, impacted by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) came together with an exceptional display of computer skills to convey a vital message to the world. A video with animated characters and texts created by the members of Autism Club Ernakulam titled 'INCLUSION' is meant to draw the attention of society at large to pay heed to their significance and its duty to stretch its space to accommodate these almost silent and special human beings. A perfect endeavour on April 2 considered as World Autism Awareness day.
The beautiful animation titled INCLUSION features various animated characters explaining each letter of the title. Each of the voices explains briefly the virtues and qualities possessed by autistic children. The video is produced by Autism Club, Ernakulam and has been released on Friday by Lulu International Shopping Mall, Edapally on its Facebook page.
Deepthi Mathews, the lead in providing computer skills to the members of the club, was the primary force behind the project.
"The video is made by the children and each of the areas from character designing to voice rendering to editing was taken care of by the children," said Deepthi, "these special children are highly skilled and what we need is to have the patience to understand them and communicate with them properly."
The characters were designed by Brian Varghese Pradeep, Pradyunn Ravi, Vaishnav K, Sam Varghese, Mohammed Hareb. Others involved in the project include Mariam Susan, Sreeparvathy, Devadarsh, Ibrahim, Avaneesh, Roshan Sanjeev, Amy Ann and Amina Remsha
Before the Coronavirus struck, the autistic children used to gather at one of the classrooms at Kakkanad govt UP school on Saturdays where training for life skills development like cloth-folding, money handling, money management, paper-pen making, bags, heat printing, crossing the road were provided.
"For money handling and road-crossing activities mock drills were conducted in virtual ambience before sending into real-life situations," says Deepthi. "Parents had followed them way behind to keep a watch, but such drills made them happy and confident," she added.
Deepthi Mathews who provides computer training to the children said that though there is reservation in government jobs for people with ASD, what is actually needed is the willingness of others to understand them and help them perform up to their potential.
Deepthi insisted each of such special children is unique and instructing them and communicating with them will require different methods. Apart from parents, everyone who is close to them should be aware of their special condition and be prepared to help and assist them and more importantly, include them.
"Generally, people try to make changes in them by force or medicine. But it's others who should be changing and behave with them accordingly considering their hypo or hyper-sensory issues," Deepthi said.
