When their three-year-old daughter was diagnosed with autism in 2008, the Bhaduris found no resources and facilities available in their hometown Ranchi. They would frequently have to travel to cities like Kolkata and Bengaluru to avail therapies. In order to help parents of other children with autism, they later established a centre offering occupational and speech therapy in Ranchi.
Autreat Wellness Centre currently has 35 children coming in regularly but has served several more over the years. When they first discussed the idea to set up the centre, no bank or financial institution was ready to provide the funds to Devika and Saumyakanti Bhaduri. They put in their own savings and built up the centre one piece of equipment at a time. Today, it has all the modern equipment and therapies available, with the entire staff consisting of professionals registered with the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI).
The therapy centre now also offers day care facilities for children on the autism spectrum. The aim behind this was to help the children enrolled with them to interact with one another to help improve their interpersonal skills. The fees collected are entirely put towards the development of the centre, in terms of buying more modern and updated equipment.
Saumya herself is pursuing her degree in special education to be able to help the kids in a more effective manner.
