With a diagnosis in hand, I was stuck with my child, not knowing what to do next. At that point of time, with very limited information about disability, my knowledge about the subject too was very limited.

Just as we get better with a painkiller or a paracetamol, I wondered whether this diagnosis was going to cure him. Though I knew something needed to be done, little did I realize that so much needs to be done. Being a total stranger to the vast ocean of disability, all that struck me was this. How am I going to bring my son out of whatever he is? I did not know whether it was a disease or whether it needed medication or not. But in spite of all this ignorance, I was very strong that my son needed me to rise up.

Thinking of the past retrospectively, one other thing that I clearly remember is that at no point of time, did we, as husband and wife sit together to arrive at this decision. But till today, we work on the same lines, with untold words.

At this juncture, let me make it a bit light. A man was searching for something for quite long. When his wife enquired what he was looking for, he said” nothing”. She promptly replied “you will find it in the second shelf in your cupboard”. That’s another example of unspoken words.

Coming back to our life, it is not in me to do tasks that anyone and everyone could do, but something, which I alone could do, that of being Niranjan’s mother. The unspoken decision was that my husband would continue his profession of chartered accountancy to earn and I would take up the profession of being a mother.

I call it a profession. I have reasons to do so. At this juncture, I need to touch upon my actual professional and qualification at that point of time.

At the time of my marriage I was a commerce graduate. Just after marriage I did my Law degree at the Madras Law College. In a class of 100 students, there were 7-8 ladies. In the whole college I was the only married lady. But that did not make any difference to me. Happily, I studied and stood university first all the three years, with 3 gold medals. This includes the third year when Niranjan was born. Having in laws at home gave me confidence that he was well taken care of.

Soon after finishing law, I enrolled for the chartered accountancy course. I cleared my intermediate exams in the first attempt, till which time I was not aware of Niranjan’s condition.

Being a wife, a daughter in law, a young mother, and being a student also was tough but challenging. That was the kind of dedication and sincerity with which I pursued my studies, anything for that matter. Leaving things half done irritates me and hence I completed the course along with Niranjan’s treatment and therapy. Probably, my desire to face challenges, coupled with my dedication to complete a task, was what instigated God to give me my precious Niranjan.

Today, sharing with you about all that I studied 20 years back may seem irrelevant to many. But I wish to explain one point, the importance of the profession, of being a mother. To me, from that day, my son and his future seem more important and valuable than all my professional courses. All the years of toil looked so petty as compared to my son.

It is not a sacrifice, but a duty. Hence there was no feeling of sorrow or pity, guilt or unhappiness. Instead, whenever anyone would ask me “what about all that you studied?” I would proudly say, “ I am Niranjan’s mother”. Till date, I continue to say so, and every time he has made me prouder. In fact he has given me more recognition than what any profession could have.

This is something, which no one can decide. It is a relative term, which God has not defined. Hence, there is light and hope.

According to the aeronaut, a bumblebee has very small wings and hence it cannot fly. The bumblebee does not know this. And it flies. If we presume that flying means like the aero plane, then probably, the bumblebee does not do so. But it is flying.

Similarly, my son has today, proved this right. Whatever anyone might have to say about his diagnosis, he does not know it. And he has started functioning like any one of us, probably differently.

Today, after 21 years, I say confidently that every child, who receives a differential diagnosis, does strive to achieve in life. It may not be due to the child’s innate desire to do so. But definitely, the child strives hard to satisfy the parent who is struggling to raise him. So, once a parent strives to make a difference to the life of their child, the child does in turn, make efforts to whatever extent possible, to live up to it.

It is in our hands, as parents to ensure a possible bright future with a lot of hope and faith in our child, in us and above all, in God.