Autism is a term that generates mixed emotions and reactions in parents. When they first hear that their child has “Autism” they have difficulty in describing the symptoms. Some parents are in denial, some are confused by what it means, some are angry at themselves and some blame each other.
Autism Spectrum Disorders were once thought to be uncommon with a reported prevalence of 4 per 10,000 in the mid 1960s. In the early 1980s the International Autistic Society estimated 2 cases of autism per 5,000 children. From the 1980s to 2000, this number has gone up to an astonishing ratio of 1 in 68 children being diagnosed with autism.
This is the case of a 10 year old girl Sonsthita Mukhopadhyay who is learning to find her way in the rushing crowd of the city Kolkata. She was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 3. She is the only daughter whose diagnosis pushed her middle class family into the world of dealing with autistic children. Her parents are learning everyday to understand her and help her with daily living.
When asked, her father said, “When she was 3 years old we noticed that she displayed unusual behaviors in terms of repeating words, eye contact was poor and she was hyperactive and hence we took her to the pediatrician, it was then when she was diagnosed to have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)”.
Sonsthita had all the symptoms of an ASD child. She was very hyper active, there was no eye contact while talking, poor command following, she couldn’t concentrate on a thing for very long, her speech was poor as well. Rather than feeling helpless though her parents took on the challenge and set out on the mission of making their child’s life easier. They visited many doctors and therapists to understand and help their daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Mukhopadyay opted for all major conventional therapy options like special education, psychological sessions, occupational therapy etc. There were minor improvements but in a very slow pace.
In their search to help their daughter they came across NeuroGen Brain and Spine Institute and in the month of April 2015 they brought her for a consultation with Dr Alok Sharma. After a detailed understanding of the procedure they decided to make Sonsthita undergo Stem Cell Therapy at NeuroGen Brain and Spine Institute on 1st August 2015.
Only two months later this is what her mother has to say, “Hyperactivity has reduced a lot and sitting tolerance has improved, she is now comfortably taking home schooling for 4.5 hours every day. She now cooperates and sits for all the therapy sessions properly”.
Her father also had something to say, “She sits quietly and does activities with him for 2-3 hours continuously. Previously she could not sit for more than 10 -15 minutes that too with force. Temptation with cashews or fear of stick in my hand is not required anymore. She is now more aware about the surroundings than before; her understanding has improved a lot. Now she can make out that I am talking about her on phone. She has now started closing the door after when we ask her to do so while changing clothes, earlier she used to not let us close it. Her temper tantrums have reduced and now she looks into my eyes while talking”.
“I am happy that I came to Mumbai all the way to just check what is Stem Cell Therapy and how it can help my daughter. My decision for her betterment has proved to be totally fruitful. I was waiting to see the results and now I want to go all out to inform all the parents like me to try for Stem Cell Therapy in NeuroGen at least once” – concludes her father.
