The Better India · 13 hours ago

Akshadha Foundation’s Autism Support Centre in Bengaluru Helps 2000 Kids

When Sumana and Anirban Dutta couldn't find adequate support for their daughter after her autism diagnosis, they didn't wait for the system to change - they became the change themselves. Sumana retrained as a special educator, and in 2012 the couple opened Akshadhaa Foundation in a one-bedroom apartment with four children; today it serves nearly 2,000 children and 3,200 families across Bengaluru. The foundation's approach turns a quiet but radical question on its head: rather than asking what is wrong with a child, Akshadhaa asks what works for them. One parent, Naresh, speaks to why families trust it: "Its work began with the founders' own search for help, and families find comfort in that shared journey." Now, with an assisted living community taking shape on the city's outskirts, the Duttas are working to answer the question that never leaves a parent's heart - what happens to my child when I am no longer here.