DR RADICA MAHASE

Arav, My Shining Star

by Veena Ramroop-Kissoon

As I write these words, I highlight your name

For there will be a day, you may read the same

Know in your heart you are truly loved

Our autism journey is a blessing from above.

In my eyes you are my shining star

As long as I am here, I will never be afar

Your words to me are to be kind to others

This I have been being your mother

Each day goes I am proud of you

For all the incredible things that you do

I love you always till my days are done

You will always and forever be my son

The above poem was written by Veena, a proud autism mom. This week, Veena is sharing her experiences with us:

“My name is Veena Ramroop-Kissoon. I am a proud mother of a kind, compassionate and genuine kid, Arav Kissoon. He is nine years of age and has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism is different for each person and so too is the journey of each autism parent. Arav always tells me 'Mummy, sharing is caring' so I have chosen to share our autism journey.

"Nine years ago, when my shining star was born, we were blessed tremendously with his presence. We took precautions for his safety and care as he was premature. As a toddler his mobility and speech were not on par with the ‘books’. We did not see this as a hindrance and proceeded to shower him with love. Without any form of therapy, Arav’s speech began just as he turned four years. His reading was self-taught – he would read books of different volumes, story books and even the newspaper. At age five, he was fluent in the English, Spanish and French alphabets.

"Arav has been home-schooled and he is a smart, intelligent, observant kid with a very creative and inquisitive mind. He is passionate about cars, Legos and any other gadgets that require cognitive thinking. He enjoys helping and often wants to give his toys as charity. Whenever we indulged in charity he will say 'Be kind to others and God will bless you'.

"He is not a kid to participate in ‘normal’ play. He prefers to draw, or be creative by building, constructing or attempting to make potions. He will not stop until his mission is completed. He refers to himself as ‘Arav the scientist’ but changes his career spontaneously. He is overwhelmed in crowds and does not like his things rearranged, otherwise he becomes emotionally distressed.

"Each child may have a favourite toy – Arav is fascinated with Hot Wheels or cars in general. He would neatly arrange his cars in a line – in his mind he is constructing parkades, car meets and even highway traffic. He would often accompany his dad to car events with some of his replica Hot Wheels and proceed to name all the vehicles present. His memory is astonishing.

"In his early childhood, Arav displayed delayed development and characteristics of autism. Family members saw it, but being a mom who always believes in God, I was in denial that my child could be on a spectrum other than being normal. I would always say he will strive when the time is right, not aware there was a