Children with autism find a ray of hope at Sunshine in Bengaluru

Vanitha S Rao‘s determination to create something unique for disabled children led her to start the Sunshine Autism Trust in Bengaluru in 2000. This NGO has been inclusive from the start.

Initially founded as a centre for children with all disabilities, today Sunshine focuses only on children with autism. It has been empowering children with autism for nearly two decades now.

Vanitha focuses on personalize sessions for children with autism. She juggles between personal commitments and her passion for reaching out to children with autism.

We have around 15 children visiting our centre every day and we try to.offer the best services. I hope that disabled children gets acceptance in our society. They deserve love and care just like every one of us. We often talk about an inclusive environment with wheelchair accessible places and disabled-friendly venues. It is high time that these are implemented. Children with autism have limitations but deserve equal love and respect. – Vanitha S Rao, Founder, Sunshine Autism Trust.

Sunshine conducts early intervention programmes, trains parents to help their children, holds professional therapies and workshops.

Vanitha says that more parents are aware about disabilities now which is a positive step. /p>

According to Vanitha, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 has had a huge impact on society. Things are only going to get better.

Shwetha Agarwal‘s eight-year-old son is a part of Sunshine. Shwetha works closely with other parents who have children with autism.

“Initially, my son was not able to write properly. Now his writing has improved a lot. Sessions at Sunshine have helped in his cognitive development as well. After monitoring Sunshine closely, I just cannot find any flaws in the way they function”, says Shwetha.

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