Wherever I have lived in the world, I have always talked about autism, and about Tomas. One, because it is true our son Tomas is autistic, and two, to get beyond the fear. You have to show to people that it is okay. It is a bit scary—a diagnosis like that— but there is nothing to be scared of.
Tomas was born in 1997. We had always thought there was something unusual and slightly different about our son. He was delayed in speech, which is where we thought there might be something going on. We spoke two languages—Portuguese (my wife is Portuguese) and English. And, he did not speak very much till he was about three. [We] saw a speech therapist, who said, ‘switch to one language, so that he [speaks] quickly’. Then we moved to Brussels. To be honest, he was okay in school before that, but the European school he went to said, ‘We can’t educate him’. This was the first time we had the school saying this. He was seven. Then he was diagnosed [with autism] in February 2005. It does not come as a bolt from the blue. Nevertheless, it is quite a shock when it happens. The next thing I thought was, he is no different from [how] he was the day before; it is not like he has a disease. It is just that that is the way his brain is wired. It is a diagnosis, but it is not a change in him at all.
Esta historia es de la edición April 16, 2023 de THE WEEK India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición April 16, 2023 de THE WEEK India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
