Arnav Pandey | Delhi Public School |
Roughly 197 million people are neurodiverse in India, it is hard to pinpoint the actual number due to a large percentage of the Indian population remaining undiagnosed throughout their lives despite having a neurodiverse condition. People often overlook early signs of neurodiversity in children, and due to the absence of an early diagnosis, children grow up to face countless problems like lack of focus, learning difficulties, disorganization, poor management skills and low frustration tolerance. Due to the stigma surrounding neurodiversity it is hard to get a certified diagnosis for conditions such as Autism, Sensory processing disorder, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder, and as a result parents find it hard to come to terms with the diagnosis and are often misguided with excuses such as, 'He is just a child', 'Her father also had delayed speech' and ‘'children always speak late', hence early diagnosis and intervention are crucial in neurodivergence.