Our Young Adults

We invite you to look into the lives of three of our autistic students to fully understand the impact of Shraddha’s efforts. The stories of Pratish Sajnani, Mayur Sadhwani,and Utpal Tripathi are touching and telling. Although autism inhibits communication and social interactions, Pratish and Mayur have been inseparable friends for the past 15 years Shraddha has nurtured these young adults and now they communicate through gestures and limited verbal skills, perfectly comprehending each other. Friendship has provided stability to both and has helped reduce their hyperactivity and temper tantrums.

A Day At Shraddha

Shraddha is more than just a vocational workshop that provides autistic young adults with care, meaningful work and a stipend. A typical day at Shraddha would start with a simple prayer. The young adults bow down to pay respects to their teachers and settle down in their classrooms. Twice a day they participate in “Brain Gym” sessions, which help stimulate their thinking processes. They also have regular “play sessions” where they go down to the playground and get some exercise. Thrice a week this is supplemented by regular gym and Yoga sessions where instructors work with them on improving flexibility and strengthening their muscles. In between these sessions, the young adults work with volunteers on their workshop projects. The day ends with prayers and tea. At 4 PM, after having their tea, the students leave to go home. Shraddha staff, students and volunteers are a close knit family and celebrate birthdays and special occasions with music and song.

Shraddha believes in the total development of an autistic individual – in body, soul and mind, and provides intellectual, physical and cognitive therapies to support their students.