WHEN I MET AN AUTISTIC CHILD...

It was a Christmas eve, my favorite time of the year! My excitement level to visit beautifully decorated mall near our house was on the peak and when you have your family with you, you wish for nothing more! The air was filled with thrill and people's faces with joy. Something was special that day, that I have never experienced before! When we were about to enter the mall, I witnessed something really tragic that caught my attention. A small, shabby and strange boy with weird gestures and peculiar body language was constantly being hit by her parents. With piety and curiosity in my eyes, I paused for a moment and gave an earful to what exactly they were scolding him for. I realized, it was because even after the whole day of begging, the boy couldn't get even a single penny home! When he was asked why by his parents, he wasn't even able to answer like a normal child. There was some factor that made him different, different from everybody else! The boy later on, went to the corner of the roadside and started crying heavily with irritating noise. 

Asking my family members to enter the mall, mentioning that I'll be right beck, I approached him. When asked his name, he didn't answer moreover, turned to the other side . With utter politeness I said, "I'm your elder sister, I promise whatever you say will be kept under pockets." The boy still didn't bother to respond, as he was busy flapping his hands, continuously moving his body depicting uneasiness ,with his head constantly staring at the street. I was clueless as to how to help him, as all my attempts went in vain. I remained there, standing and observing his behavior . The very next moment, I got an epiphany of my psychology class, where I was taught about a disorder with similar symptoms-Autism! it took me really long to realize this because, it was my first time coming across an autistic child out of nowhere! I recalled everything about how should the child with autism be handled after that, started dealing with the child accordingly. "I am here to help you. You can talk to me about anything. I said, caressing the child gently.

He started talking but, nothing was clear to me as his voice was quavering. I called my psychology teacher, explained the situation, asking her to drive to the mall, outside which we were there at a corner. Knowing that it was an emergency, she rushed and made it to the mall in 5 minutes. She consoled and handled the child in her own way. I was surprised seeing how easily she could convince him. We reached out to his parents, my teacher told them about the disorder the boy was going through, to which they considered mental imbalance which can never be cured. With there consent , my teacher took the boy along with his parents to her clinic for counselling and psychotherapy. 

That day I realized, there is a world of difference between studying a disorder from the book and witnessing the real case in practical life!