Alka Srivastava
We are parents of Vanshita, a vibrant young lady in her early thirties who is on the autism spectrum. We are in our early sixties. I am a retired central government official who served as Deputy Director at the Indian Council of Social Science Research, Ministry of Education. My husband, Raj Srivastava currently works as Director, Internal Audit, Room to Read, an organisation which promotes education of underprivileged children globally.
We have navigated a very tough life journey in addressing challenges encountered by our only child. This was made possible with unstinted transcendent support of my late father. We have tried our best to continually understand, embrace and pragmatically support our daughter’s needs through medical, care-related, educational, life, behavioural and psychological interventions. Working with her constantly, we have been able to help her lead a joyous, fulfilled and fruitful life. Our endeavour has been to provide her the very best opportunities, which has been financially and logistically quite gruelling. However, the resources and services received in reciprocation have remained far from satisfactory.
Typically, services provided in the name of individualized special education by dedicated special needs centres are quite exorbitant and yet they remain unprofessional, unaccountable, cramped, isolated. Moreover, the care that is provided is generally not tailored to the needs of the individual.
The Big Question Answered
As we traverse this overwhelming life journey over time, the fear of the distressing question ‘What after us?’ looms larger by the day. As we age, our energies start to flag. And, while we remain hopeful, the fact remains that our daughter needs constant support. So, we realised that our only anchor could be to secure our living in an assisted living community anywhere in India that is designed to meet the multifarious needs of a special-needs adult along with the provision for senior citizens living. However, our several years of early search for an appropriate supportive living left us more disillusioned than empowered.
Then, about four years ago, we learnt about the unique endeavours of Akshadhaa Foundation and their Assisted living project. Joining them since then, there has been a true turnaround and positive outcome in our lives. Akshadhaa has brought about great solace, pragmatic solutions, abundant support and security to us. My daughter has attended Akshadhaa Foundation for a span of over eight months during our intermittent stays at Bangalore. Even in such a short span, the centre through its commitment, professionalism and innovative approach has been able to make successful impact towards enhancing her vocational and life skills in a truly nurturing and resourceful environment. Akshadhaa Assisted living, is the answer to the distressing question. We are now assured that our daughter will be able to lead a safe, fulfilling and happy life even when we are no more.
We found that the parent-led Akshadhaa Assisted living Community embodies the philosophy: ‘Clarity of Vision creates Clarity of Priorities’. The community is being driven by realistic foresight, meticulous planning, expertise of driving care and engagement for neurodiverse individuals. Parents’ enrolment has been largely accomplished and the construction of the RERA-approved project is in full swing. The success of Akshadhaa Foundation centres, Akshadhaa academy, Healthcare centres bears testimony to their commitment and capability.
The most notable aspect is that the three Pillars of Health, Security and Perpetuity are being put in place without waiting for physical infrastructure and amenities to come up.
The experience, interactions and knowledge gained about Akshadhaa has strengthened our conviction that their vision and mission are totally ours and is the answer and solution to our quest. In consonance with our thinking, Akshadhaa firmly believes that each special needs individual is precious, capable and deserves a dignified life with purpose and contentment. We always aspired to live close to our daughter and have a good role in building the ecosystem for her good life. As aging parents, we ourselves shall require a senior-friendly environment, healthcare, security and support.
How Are We Contributing?
The Akshadhaa Community is a collaborative endeavour and we are already proactively contributing to the mission’s success. I am drafting the Akshadhaa Chronicle to create as a conceptual record and template of the community’s evolution. My husband, Raj given his work experience in audit and finance is seized with financial planning and is a member of the Finance Committee. In the future, Raj can perhaps participate in financial, audit and varied managerial aspects of the project. Since, I have served in social sciences research administration would like to be associated in multiple domains like research analytics, planning, education, healthcare and most importantly engaging with the SNIs themselves.
We have been amongst the earliest parents to enrol in the community and have so far contributed in its promotion, networking and resource building, even though we are presently located in Gurugram. In fact, we have been systematically preparing ourselves to move to Akshadhaa Assisted Living Community at the earliest, in order to smoothen the transition and acclimatise ourselves and our daughter – practically, mentally and emotionally.
Need to Replicate the Akshadhaa Assisted Living Community Model
In view of tremendous lifelong challenges faced by the fast-growing neurodiverse community and families, Akshadhaa Foundation and its model of assisted community living must be replicated in large numbers. Akshadhaa Foundation with its expertise in neurodiversity and the experience of successfully spearheading three special needs rehabilitation centres, community outreach programmes, an academy for neurodiverse studies and an assisted living residential community, is poised and should assume greater roles and reach out to more special needs children and stakeholders including policy makers.
Contact us today to learn how you can be part of a transformative assisted living model that supports neurodiverse individuals and their families with dignity and care.
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