Debashis Paul is on a multi-city tour with his memoir I Have Autism and I Like Playing Good Bad Tennis. Paul, a marketing strategy consultant, shares vignettes of his son’s life in his debut book and is now on a mission to create awareness about the condition. The Calcutta-born and Delhi-based Paul has already launched his book in the city along with Gurgaon and is gearing up for launches in Cochin, Bangalore and Coimbatore. Talking about the feedback so far, he said, “It’s beyond my expectations. I have received messages from people I know and even unexpected profiles like school principals, medical practitioners and even people who have nothing to do with autism or special needs. The educators said that it’s the first material they have that will motivate the teachers and give them direction in teaching children with special needs like learning difficulties. For me, it’s a very positive start.”
I Have Autism and I Like to Play Good Bad Tennis | Published by Westland Books | Price: Rs 349 | Available on Amazon
The book talks about Paul’s son Noel who was diagnosed with autism and is a personal account of Paul and his struggles in a society that has very less awareness about it and that also views it with prejudice. “It’s not just a book about a human account or story but so much more. And it’s not confined to the struggles and tribulations of raising a child who is autistic but how to analyse the behaviour and prepare strategies so that they can do better. It’s a book of hope to give them a dignified life. Aside, it also talks about teaching skills, languages, and tailoring programmes according to their needs,” said Paul who laments on the lack of awareness in Indian schools and the absence of special educators and special programmes for children with special needs.Talking about his struggle of finding the right solutions for Noel, he said, “I had no direct experience of anything of this sort and I had to rebuild my life to this whole thing of searching for information as there was no Internet then. So I did my own research and read multiple books that would guide me in some way or the other. In this respect, National Autistic Society in the UK helped me a lot. I also consulted a lot of special educators, therapists and medical practitioners in London, which gave me a lot of confidence. I realised that it was possible to unburden special children from academic pressure and nurture their talents.”
The book is a concise account written in a lucid fashion keeping in mind the young generation. Paul said, “I could have written a much fatter book, something that would run 500-700 pages but it’s for today’s generation who are heavily exposed to the Internet. Our reading habits have changed so it had to be concise. Every word and every page is important. My book is for everybody so I had to write as per today’s trend.”
Post the book launch Paul, intends to deliver talks in many organisations — online and offline — to continue his mission of giving new parents more confidence in dealing with the situation and giving children with special needs their dignity.