AS SEVEN-YEAR-OLD Ravi blows bubbles from a dish, his feet start tapping to the tunes of ‘Dard-e-disco,' his favourite score. He loves to sing and dance like any child of his age. The only difference, he doesn't speak except for a few words.

Ravi is lucky still. He goes to a special school called Support for Autistic Individuals (SAI), Santacruz. But a majority of the 80,000-odd autistic children in the city are not as privileged, as the capacity across eight schools and 32 other institutions dedicated to this cause is limited to about 1,000.

On the first World Autism Awareness Day proposed by the UN General Assembly on April 2, autistic children in Mumbai remain largely neglected with facilities too inadequate for the number of such children.

Care is of the essence to train these children and ba sic safety precautions are important. At SAI, swings have been replaced with benches, toys have taken the place of notebooks and storytelling sessions are the most ‘serious' classes. The most important lesson is to be polite – saying ‘hello' and ‘thank you' is a must.

"Our children don't like to socialise, so teaching them to say hello may seem trivial but actually means the world to us," said Bina Modak, resident of Dadar whose son has autism.

"Special schools are important as they help to bring some amount of normalcy in the students' lives. Unfortunately there are barely any schools for autistic children , as compared to the number needed. We need one teacher per student and that's why it is difficult to accommodate many students," said SAI principal Kamini Lakhani.

"These children need to be taught simple skills like walking in a queue, waiting for their turns, sitting in a group, enjoying play et cetera. But the question is how many will get to learn?" asks Chitra Iyer, president of the Forum for Autism.

"The government must allot some space for these schools or support those who want to expand their facilities," she opines.

According to some, inclusion of autism in the Persons with Disability Act would help. "Autistic individuals and schools for autistic children will be entitled to many concessions and privileges, including government funding, if the disease is included in the act. Hence the main focus of activists is to achieve this goal," said Dr Rubina Lal, president of the Society of Parents of Children with Autistic Disorders (SOPAN).

Lack of certification centres is yet another concern. "There is only one certification centre in the city that is , J.J. Hospital. It's not physically possible for people living in far off suburbs to go there, so more government hospitals should be authorised," said Iyer, adding that such certificates entitle parents to tax exemptions up to Rs 75,000.

WHAT IS AUTISM?

Brain development disorder that impairs communication and social interaction and causes restricted and repetitive behaviour.

It begins at birth or within the first two years of life.

As its cause is unknown, it is incurable.

Autistic boys outnumber girls four-to-one.

One in 160 children is autistic.

Most autistic children are normal in appearance, but engage in puzzling and disturbing behaviour that is markedly different from typical children.

The earlier a child is treated, the better the chances of improvement.

1 HIGH FUNCTIONING AUTISM: They have a problem of communication and lack social skills, but they can be trained. They keep repeating, don't answer questions, do not use pro nouns, engage in irrelevant talk. A combination of therapy and education is prescribed for them.

2 LOW FUNCTIONING AUTISM: They cannot be made to learn because they are severely mentally challenged; they're functioning at low IQ level. They are not toilet-trained; don't interact at all, stay in their own world. Changes in routine upset them, and they cling to rituals. Therapy is the only solution.

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