One of my college friends decided to post the links to my blogs. So the blog saw a lot of traffic these past 24 hours. I have been blown away by some of the responses and reactions. There are so many good and sensitive people out there, so many who have their own share of problems. Over the years various people have reached out in ways that have been really touching. Even folks spending time reading about V's journey is impressive. After all, why should anyone spend their own time and energy on something that is not their own?
Through all this, one of the things I have always maintained is to believe in one's child. Of course, there are situations which are different. The believing might be within certain other boundaries. For instance, a friend of mine has two boys who are autistic. She has handled their situation with a lot of grace over the years, been really strong and practical from what I can see. The fact that she has been working on alternatives for her boys, knowing that they probably are not going to go through a four year college, and handling it all so well has been an immense source of inspiration.
Even though Indian culture dates back to thousands of years, there is so much that we Indians tend to club under the cultural bucket as not allowable is simply callous. The fact that a child has to struggle under the existing school system in India without support, assistance and services that may be needed in certain cases, and the fact that parents have to accept and support the child and work with family members to have them also accept the situation, as well as continue to shield their child from psychological harm because he/she is not an "A" student is a great deal of burden to carry. It is one that needn't be that way. Together, we all need to start changing that society, no matter which geographical location we may be situated in.
