Six-year-old Aniket has received his new baking tools and is into preparing cupcakes for home delivery. Sumit and seven other autistic children, aged between 3 and 19 years, are putting their skills to work to show that autism does not come in the way of their lives. Children with autism have difficulties in social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication and repetitive behaviour.
'Blue Chef's' is an initiative of I Support Foundation (ISF), an NGO which works for the education and betterment of autistic children and adults. The baking unit, named after the official colour representing autism, was launched on United Nations' International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The children are trained to make muffins, chocolates and other desserts at the school run by the foundation in Electronics City. The idea is to create awareness about autism while giving the children equal opportunities.
"We want restaurants and other employers to see that those with autism are also employable. The skills they pick up through cooking will make them independent and they will be able to become financially independent as well," said Juhi Ramani, co-founder of the foundation.
The ISF team will train the children and adults by assigning them specific goals and tasks. Since they can comprehend visuals better than reading, the recipe and instructions will be provided in pictures as far as possible. Orders can be placed on call or Whats App and the children will deliver goodies with help from their parents and volunteers.
Deepa Varun, mother of six-year-old Sumit, said: "He is a foodie and he loves to watch me cook at home. I don't know how his academics will go. But these skills will hopefully help him become independent in the future."
Juhi and her sister Bobby started the foundation for their autistic brother. They run a school for autistic children in Lucknow and one at Electronics City. Understanding the needs of autistic parents, they have also started a drive to make restaurants in the city autism-friendly.
"Children with autism tend to be impatient. When we would go out to a restaurant, we would have trouble keeping our brother engaged till his food came. Staff would also not know how to handle the situation," Juhi said.
As part of the drive, they have started training staff of eateries at Koramangal and Electronics City on how to assist children with special needs. Each restaurant also received an activity kit with drawing sheets and crayons to keep the children engaged.