The Question ‘Who Will Take Care of My Child After I’m Gone?’ Led To Autism Support Movement for Thousands

A child sits cross-legged on the floor, her fingers dipped in paint. Blue blends into yellow, then green, not within the lines, not following any rule. Just instinct and pure joy.

Across the room, her parents watch quietly. Their smile is not loud or celebratory. It is softer and heavier, carrying years of confusion, fear, and searching. Now, it holds something new: relief.

They don’t interrupt. They don’t correct.
They simply watch, and for a moment, allow themselves to feel something they haven’t always had the luxury of feeling, ease.

This is what hope looks like at the Akshadhaa Foundation.

A Bengaluru-based, parent-led organisation, Akshadhaa works with children on the autism spectrum and their families, bringing together therapy, education, and life-skills training under one roof. More than a service provider, it is a system built from lived experience, designed by parents who once struggled to find the right support for their own child.

Over the years, the foundation has touched the lives of nearly 2,000 children and 3,200 families, each journey shaped by a shared need for understanding, continuity, and care.

“When you begin this journey as a parent, everything is uncertain, what to do, where to go, and what will work,” says Sumana Dutta, co-founder of Akshadhaa Foundation.

“What we wanted to build was a space where that uncertainty reduces, and the child can simply grow, in their own way, at their own pace, with the right support.”

That quiet moment, a child immersed and a parent at peace, is what Akshadhaa has spent over a decade trying to make possible.

When the journey becomes personal

For Sumana and Anirban Dutta, this work did not begin as a professional decision. It began as a deeply personal turning point, the moment their daughter was diagnosed with autism at the age of three and a half.

At the time, Sumana was not from the field of special education. Trained in computer science, she had worked in the corporate sector before moving into a school setting in Kolkata, seeking a more balanced life.

“My journey has two innings,” she says. “The first was in computer science and teaching. The second, the one I have been in for over 17 years, began because I am a mother.”

The diagnosis changed everything.

“I was looking for solutions, ways to engage her and support her better,” Sumana recalls. “But when I look back, I realise that what was available wasn’t really helping.”

What she encountered instead was a system full of gaps.

“There was no individualised approach,” she explains. “Every child is different, their strengths, challenges, and pace, but the system didn’t reflect that.”

Services existed, but in fragments. Parents were left to piece them together on their own, moving across the city based on word-of-mouth recommendations, navigating long waitlists and high costs.

“Even when you find support, there is often no proper documentation, no reports, no way to track progress over time,” she adds.

For years, she tried different therapies and centres, but something fundamental was missing.

“There was no place where everything came together,” she says. “No one was looking at the child’s journey as a whole.”

The idea that changed everything

As they began to understand the system more deeply, many gaps became clearer. Sumana pursued formal training in special education, specialising in autism, and began identifying what needed to change.

She realised that meaningful progress required three things: continuity, collaboration, and involvement.

“There has to be a multidisciplinary environment,” she explains. “Therapists cannot work in isolation. They need to collaborate, plan together, and build an Individualised Education Plan for each child.”

Equally important was the role of parents.

“In many places, there is a closed-door approach,” she says. “Parents are treated as emotional participants. But the child spends most of their time at home. If the family is not involved, 45 minutes of therapy cannot bring transformation.”

This insight became foundational to Akshadhaa.

“Make the parent a co-therapist,” Anirban says, a simple idea that would go on to define the organisation’s philosophy.

For Anirban, who spent over three decades as an engineer and management professional, the shift into this space was equally profound, driven not by career but by conviction.

Building what they couldn’t find

Akshadhaa Foundation was born in 2012 out of this shared need to create a system they themselves had struggled to find.

It began in a one-bedroom apartment in Bengaluru with just four children. But the intent was clear: to build a space where therapies were integrated, progress was documented, and families were active participants.

“There was no proper reporting system earlier,” Anirban says. “Even if a child moved from one centre to another, there was no continuity. We wanted to change that, to make progress visible and meaningful.”

At Akshadhaa, every child follows an Individualised Education Plan, supported by a multidisciplinary team of special educators, therapists, and psychologists. Progress is tracked over time, ensuring interventions build on each other instead of starting from scratch.

But beyond structure, what sets the foundation apart is its emotional core.

“The foundation is my second child,” Sumana says. “Even if I am working till one in the night, it doesn’t feel like work.”

Grounding hope in reality

One of the most difficult aspects of the journey, Sumana says, is helping parents navigate expectations.

“When a child is very young, the first question parents ask is, can my child come out of autism?” she says. “But it is important to ground them in reality and prepare them for a lifelong journey.”

At Akshadhaa, counselling is as important as therapy.

“We first meet the emotional side of the parent,” she explains. “Then we help them understand their role, give them tools, and make them part of the process.”

Because real change does not happen in isolation.
It happens at home, in everyday interactions, in how a child is understood and supported.

Shifting the lens: from challenges to strengths

At the heart of Akshadhaa’s approach is a shift in perspective.

Traditional models of special education often focus on deficits, what needs to be fixed. But Akshadhaa draws from the social model of inclusion.

“Instead of asking what is wrong with the child, we ask, what works for the child?” Sumana explains.

This changes how children experience learning. Their interests become entry points. Their strengths become tools. The environment adapts to them, not the other way around.

Why parents trusted parents

For many families, what set Akshadhaa apart was not just its structure, but its authenticity.

Naresh, a mechanical engineer who joined the initiative in 2015 for his son, recalls what drew him in.

“This is not a business for them,” he says. “It started as a service for their own child. As a parent, who can you trust more than someone walking the same journey?”

That trust has shaped Akshadhaa’s growth, a community built not just by professionals, but by families who understand the stakes.

Beyond childhood: preparing for independence

As children grow older, the focus shifts from development to independence.

At Akshadhaa, this transition is supported through vocational training and real-world opportunities. Students have been placed in roles across retail, hospitality, packaging, and corporate environments.

Currently, three young women with autism are earning stipends, one fully employed and two working as apprentices.

These milestones are not just professional achievements; they are deeply personal ones.

“When a child begins to engage meaningfully with the world, the entire family experiences a shift,” Anirban says. “There is more calm, more confidence, more hope.”

The question every parent carries

And yet, one question remains constant:
What happens after us?

For Anirban, this question became impossible to ignore.

“As a father, you think about safety, about the future, about what happens when your child grows older and when you are no longer there,” he says.

The idea of assisted living first took shape during his Fulbright scholarship in 2012, when he visited residential facilities in the United States. But those models could not be directly replicated in India.

The need was for something contextual and sustainable.

The COVID-19 pandemic became a turning point.“It forced us to confront the question we had been postponing,” he says.

Building for the future

Today, that answer is taking shape as the Akshadhaa Assisted Living Community on the outskirts of Bengaluru. Designed for around 50 families, it is envisioned as a comprehensive ecosystem.

At the heart of the community is the ‘Lagaan spirit’, inspired by the film Lagaan. This spirit embodies the collective resolve of individuals and families coming together for a greater shared purpose. 

“This is about a 24-hour life,” Sumana explains. “Health, daily living, engagement, vocational work, everything has to come together.”

The model rests on three pillars: health, safety, and perpetuity.

Health includes integrated care. Safety extends beyond infrastructure to emotional and social well-being. Perpetuity ensures the system continues even in the absence of parents.

“We often say this project truly begins when we are not there,” Anirban says.

Documentation plays a crucial role, ensuring each individual’s journey, needs, and progress are recorded and can continue seamlessly.

A community, not just a facility

The assisted living space will include therapy centres, vocational units, and a 30,000 sq ft engagement hub, along with community areas and a café.

But more than infrastructure, it is designed as a living community.

“Nothing heals like nature,” Anirban says. “We have taken the project to nature, because that is where people connect.”

The goal is to create a space where individuals can live independently while staying connected to each other, to their environment, and to meaningful work.

Parents who found answers

For parents like Mohandas Nair, the journey to Akshadhaa came after decades of searching.

“It takes time to accept,” he says. “Then you keep moving from one place to another, trying different approaches.”

When he found Akshadhaa in 2015, what stood out was its clarity and commitment.

“They understand what these children need, and they take the effort to understand each child individually,” he says.

Vaibhav Tandon’s journey reflects a similar search across cities.

“Every child is unique, but most systems follow a fixed approach,” he says. “My child didn’t fit into that.”

What drew him to Akshadhaa was its assisted living vision.

“This is a space designed around people with special needs, not trying to fit them into existing systems,” he says.

Equally important was the community.“When you meet other families who have gone through similar journeys, it gives you confidence,” he adds.

What Akshadhaa is really building

At its core, Akshadhaa Foundation is not just building programmes or infrastructure.

It is building continuity. A system where a child’s journey does not reset with every transition.
A space where independence is nurtured with dignity and a community where parents are not alone in their concerns about the future.

And perhaps most importantly, it is building something that allows parents to step back, even if just for a moment, and simply watch.

Their child is painting, growing, and finding their own way.

And in that moment, the smile that once carried uncertainty begins to hold something steadier, trust in what lies ahead.

All images courtesy Akshadhaa Foundation