The center established by Biratnagar Metropolitan City is not just a physical structure, but a shared answer to the pain, concerns, and hopes that parents have carried for years.
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As it approaches 9 am, a faint noise mixed with children's laughter can be heard in the quiet alley south of the milk farm in Biratnagar-4.
Some are expressing their energy by jumping on the trampoline, while others are practicing to understand the world in a new way by catching colorful balls.
This building, which looks ordinary from the outside, is where the dreams of many children who have lived in silence have started to take shape. The ‘Mahanagar Autism Service Center’ is in operation.
This center, established by Biratnagar Metropolitan City with the aim of providing free services to children with autism, is not just a physical structure, but a common answer to the pain, anxiety and hope that parents have been carrying for years. The center, inaugurated by the Mayor of the metropolis, Nagesh Koirala, on 7 Kartik last year, has the technical support of the Karuna Foundation.
To institutionalize the care, treatment and learning of children with autism, Biratnagar Metropolitan City has created a working procedure and operated the center. The working procedure has put forward a clear vision that children with autism should be served as a ‘right’, not as ‘mercy’.
The metropolis had allocated a budget of Rs 10 million for the autism service center in the previous fiscal year. Out of that amount, the center was brought into operation at a cost of Rs 3 million, says Dr. Dilip Yadav, head of the health division. ‘This is the beginning,’ he says, ‘we are planning to expand the service in the long term by constructing a separate building for the center soon.’ This year, a budget of about Rs 7 million has been allocated.
The center operates from 9 am to 3 pm. With the increase in cold wave in the Terai, the holidays have started an hour earlier. Currently, 17 children are receiving services. According to the metropolis’s data, there are 51 children with autism in the Biratnagar area alone. Rashmi Niraula, the coordinator of the center, said that the metropolis is preparing to gradually include the remaining children. The metropolis bears all the expenses of the children. ‘Everything from food to bus transportation for the children is free,’ said Niraula.
The environment inside the center is different from a normal school. There is no oppression here, but ease. Keeping in mind the sensitivity of children, toys like trampoline, chipleti, chakachuli, pool ball, rocking horse, spinning top, table tennis have been placed. These toys are not only a means of entertainment, but are also therapeutic means of developing children's physical balance, coordination, confidence and social interaction.
The Metropolitan Autism Service Center provides physiotherapy, speech therapy (teaching to speak), and psychiatric services. However, the service is not limited to this. Along with treatment, children admitted to the center are also given basic studies. According to Dr. Yadav, our goal is not to 'suck' children here, but to prepare them here and send them to society. After treatment, they are admitted to other schools. In this way, the center has become a bridge between treatment and formal education for children.
Teacher Amita Das says that the role of parents in the lives of children with autism is very important. The working procedure also considers parents as companions of the center. Parents are trained and taught how to care for them at home. The statement of a mother who visits the center further reflects the importance of the center. ‘Earlier, society used to blame the child for not speaking or understanding. We considered ourselves to be at fault. After coming here, we realized that the problem was not with the child, but with our understanding.’
The working method aims to operate the center initially as a ‘Diva Seva Kendra’ and develop it as a residential service center in the long term. The ambition is also included to make it a ‘Center of Excellence’ based on experience and learning. This means that this practice, which started in Biratnagar, can become a model for other local levels in the future. It is also expected that the center will develop as a resource center for organizations that want to work in the field of autism.
Teacher Das has experienced that the center has not only brought about a change in the lives of children, but has also started an effort to change the perspective of society. ‘The message that autism is not a ‘shame’ to be hidden, but a condition to be understood is visible in every activity of the center,’ she said.
This initiative by Biratnagar Metropolitan City has shown that if the local government can bring policy, budget and sensitivity together, a voice can be created even in silence. Inside that small building at Milk Farm South, words are few today, but possibilities are countless. From here begins a new journey for children with autism, where they are not ‘different’, but ‘potential’.
