(India) Parents to provide residential home for ASD children/families; worry over the future

Dec 11, 2021, Telegraph India: Home for kids with autism on Bolpur outskirts looks at Jan. 2023 opening https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/home-for-kids-with-autism-on-bolpur-outskirts-looks-at-jan-2023-opening/cid/1842829

A group of parents with children with autism have taken an initiative to start a residential facility for individuals with autism and their families. There is a demand for such a facility from parents because they want to ensure a secure life for the children in their absence, said those behind the set-up that is being constructed at Jamdoba village, about 20km from Bolpur and around 150km from the city. Ananda Ashrama, as it is called, will have two sections — one with a residential facility for above six years of age with school, medical facility and agricultural land and the other will have provision for cottages for children to stay with their parents. The entire project is coming up on a 10-acre plot. Parents who are IT professionals, doctors, engineers, teachers have come forward to support this project and even contributed from their personal fund. The question for most parents with children with autism or disabilities is “what happens after us,” said Arunasis Adhikari, a parent and one of the persons behind the project. “The concern for most parents is who will look after their children after their death. We want the responsibility to be taken by fellow parents who have children with autism because they will understand their issues and show empathy,” said Adhikari, also the secretary of a trust that runs a school for children with special needs in the city.

The facility will be inaugurated in January 2023 but already 10 of the cottages have been booked…. The residential facility for children and individuals with autism will have a capacity of 50. The cottages for children with parents will have a total capacity of 35 but not all would be sold off at one time, said Adhikari. “We will sell in phases so that there are younger parents who will be able to run the facility in the long run,” he said…. The trust hopes that though they can accommodate only 50 individuals and another 35 families this would serve as a model for future such endeavours.