It was a rainy autumn, when Tristan potty trained. Autistic kids can have trouble learning to listen to their bodies, and it had been a veritable cha-cha-cha that had frustrated us all – a few steps forward, setbacks and then 

Most children don’t get to interact with people with special needs on a regular basis. Few schools are equipped to teach differently abled children alongside typically developing children, and so the two are often separated, which only leads to this 

I am the director of an organisation for children with disabilities and their families in Dehradun. Recently, one of our major funders asked us to conduct what they call a “Family Burden Survey.” They wanted to get a sense of 

I remember the moment of Tristan’s first words clearly. He was in my aunt’s garden in Pune when he came face-to-face with the family canine. “Dog,” he said. We were delighted. We practically threw a party. He was two and 

Recently, I took my daughter to an ENT specialist because she has developed periodic breathing, holding her breath for up to 40 seconds and then suddenly exhaling. She does it for most of the night, and it disturbs her sleep. 

When my husband and I were newlyweds, we seemed to have an almost telepathic connection. We would say things at the same time, make the same decisions independently. We seldom felt the need to discuss or compromise; the rare occasions 

Every parent remembers (in a haze, maybe, but we do remember) the early days when the first baby had just arrived. The broken sleep. The chaos. The complete inability to plan anything further away than the afternoon. Baby number two 

I am reading Far From The Tree by Andrew Solomon, and it is a slow, painful process that leaves me alternately breathless and buoyant. I feel as if I have been put through a threshing machine at one moment, sent 

As advocates for children with special needs, one of the things we keep discovering is how insightful and observant children are about each other, how much they notice and how much they connect. On my frequent walks with Moy Moy, 

When I was a teenager and into my twenties, the months leading up to New Year’s Eve brought so much anticipation. It was the one evening of the year that we were allowed to stay out all night and party 

The latest buzzword in the world of special needs is Self-Advocacy, the idea that young adults with cognitive impairments (like Autism, Down Syndrome or other intellectual disabilities) can and should speak for themselves. I’ve heard self-advocates speak in conferences to 

  We hosted an intimate gathering of people from the spectrum of special needs care. Filled with parents and practitioners, the small group immediately settled into a warm and conversational feel as Siamack Zahedi, head of The Gateway School of Mumbai, shared important tips 

Grown-ups don’t know how to talk to kids. What are you saying? you’re wondering. We talk to kids all the time. It’s so easy! Right? We ask the child standing in front of us in the line, “What’s your name?” 

“Think back over your day,” asks the teacher. “What do you feel you need help with?” Three children sit on top of their desks, their legs dangling, faces staring intently in response. In the back of the class, another child, 

Swaddle Salons connect readers to experts for up-close-and-personal conversations. Think TED Talk meets tea party. Yeah. It’s everything you’re imagining and more.   Our first Swaddle Salon kicks off in Mumbai next week, with a talk from Siamack Zahedi on building a life around supporting a child with 

I met my husband at my neighbourhood watering hole, “The Warbler.” I was between flights, as part of the cabin crew for Gulf Air. Who would have guessed that two years later, we would be married. Five years later, we’d 

“Children First” is a truism, one of those phrases we all believe and think we actually practice. Coupled with women — as in “Women and Children First” — it was famously not practiced as the Titanic sank and upperclass men 

School admission time rolls around faster every year. For some reason, I am besieged each March and April with requests for help from parents desperate to get their children into School X, Y or Z. I am not influential, and