THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Four marathon runners from the city have embarked on a journey to do away with the stigma associated with autism. The aim is to create awareness on the condition and even educate parents and professionals alike to become more open about the different abilities of autism-affected people. Shijo Rajan, Sooraj S B, Sam Raj and Nijas N Mohammed undertook the run from Kasargod to Thiruvananthapuram.
“Children who have autism are not incapable. There are many who have beaten odds in sports and other fields despite the disorder. What is hindering them are opportunities. We want to educate people about the abilities of these children and especially focus on their talents in sports," said Sooraj S B, coach of Olympion Athletics Sports Academy. “We covered 1,050 km as part of the run. In each district, we distributed brochures we had designed as part of the promotion.
We also delivered awareness classes at junctions,” said Nijas, sports manager at Infosys. They also conducted awareness classes in schools and colleges. The runners feel it is both the children and adults affected by autism who are sidelined. Most of the time, they end up at home, with parents who are unable to address the needs of their children.
The runners faced several difficulties before undertaking the journey. They had to bear all the expenses for the project and are hence looking for sponsors.“When we reached Malappuram, one of the runner's received an ankle injury. But he did not stop and chose to finish the run. Though we received sufficient support, we feel our cause has not been addressed enough because it was held at a time when the Sabarimala issue was at its peak,” said Sooraj.