Neehan came to me from Kushtia  at the age of four. He was  accompanied  by his  mother who had recently lost her husband.  At the initial meeting  I found  Neehan  still grieving and searching for his father  and his mother  facing the nightmare of having to reconstruct her  life in addition to caring for Neehan  who displayed  signs of  mild autism or sensory integration disorder.  Neehan  had some speech  but found it difficult to communicate or interact  with others. He was extremely hyperactive and had poor concentration. His mother proved to be highly motivated. She used  her  widow’s pension to purchase  materials to stimulate  Neehan.  She set up a programme that included sensory therapy and 1:1 activities. She put  Neehan  on a sugar free, gluten and casein free diet.

Neehan enoys playing with

a slide at one of his consultation visits.

I advised Neehan should begin school . However not a single school was willing to offer a place. His mother then set up a small class at her parents’ house. She pooled a number of children who were street urchins. All the children progressed so well, they eventually were placed in various schools. However Neehan was still refused admission. By this time his communication had greatly improved and he was independent in all self help skills. I suggested that Shanta  (his mother) could consider teaching not just  Neehan, but other autistic children  too. To this end I enrolled her on two training programmes , the first being a parent training workshop  at SWAC , then subsequently an in depth training course at CNAC for professionals on the diagnosis, management and teaching of autistic children (the trainer being Merry Barua from India). I also arranged for a week long hands-on training opportunity for Shanta provided by Dr. Nushrat Ahmed at Hope Autism Center. In the meantime, at regular follow up sessions, I found Neehan  making excellent progress but he still showed signs of hyperactivity  and limited attention span. I suspected that he may have ADHD  co-existing with mild autism. So I started him on atomoxetine  to which he responded very well. His hyperactivity is no longer evident  and he is beginning to read and write, much to the relief of his mother .

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