April 2 is designated as World Autism Awareness Day, to spread awareness and sensitise people about the brain disorder. An international campaign, #lightitupblue is observed on this day.
According to Action for Autism, a national not-for-profit organisation, over 18 million people in India have autism. That’s one in 68 people.
On Sunday, Forum for Autism (FFA), a public trust formed in 2001, organised an art exhibition at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus that featured works of quite a few autistic artists.
Parul Kumtha, the President of FFA, said, “Autism has challenged, but it has wonderful strengths, and if you focus on what a person with autism can do, what a person with autism can’t do recede into the background.”