Chithra Seshadri

Background

About Chithra Seshadri

Neurodiversity and Education have been twin tracks of my professional and personal experience over the last decade and more. My journey with autism started in 2009, when my child was diagnosed at the age of 3.5 years. Ever since, I have worked with my child, trained as a behavior therapist, and eventually certified as a BCaBA within five years. In 2015, we started Sambhavam, an early intervention center where we work with families living with autism. We provide early intervention for the children and counselling and consulting for the family. We think of autism as a natural consequence of human neurodiversity. Our work and interventions consider the impact of autism on the person on the spectrum, as well as the family. We believe autism is just another way of being, everyone can live a full life with appropriate support and accommodations, and the family, the therapist/teacher community and the larger society, each have their own role to play.This thinking has lead us to start Farm Hill Learning, a neurodiverse, close to nature, community learning space. As of 2022, we work with 10 families, with children on and off the autism spectrum. We are keenly aware of how underserved the autism community is, and wish to do more in areas like parent training, school support, pre vocational and vocational support, assisted living etc.