Bhubaneswar: On the eve of International Autism Pride Day, Mindspace Academy hosted a landmark event to award children with autism who achieved significant milestones. The event, led by a panel of specialists from various domains that are at the forefront of this initiative, cast a spotlight on the critical gap in autism services in Eastern India.
Addressing this long-standing need, Mindspace Academy has been launched as a new joint initiative between Kolkata-based Desun Hospital and Behaviour Momentum India (BMI), the pan-India pioneer of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) services. Mindspace Academy will provide the much-needed ABA services – the global gold standard in Autism treatment – to families across Eastern India.
This unique collaboration between a leading hospital and an expert ABA provider is a first for the region. Ms. Shaoli Dutta, Director of Neurodevelopmental Initiatives at Desun Hospital, explained the vision. “This isn’t just about introducing a new therapy,” she informed the audience. “It’s about transforming the system. This one-of-a-kind initiative will have medical professionals and ABA intervention specialists work together by focusing on creating an integrated ecosystem of care. We are bringing evidence-based early intervention to families who have long navigated a fragmented and challenging healthcare landscape.”
“It is of critical importance that families across India have access to globally accepted best practices in autism care, especially therapy based on the science of ABA,” said Dr Smita Awasthi, a BCBA-D and founder of BMI, who is the country’s only doctorate-level ABA expert. “For too long, families in Eastern India have been deprived of compassionate and constructive ABA. That changes today.”
Dr. Bichitrovanu Sarkar, Head of Paediatrics at Desun Hospital, emphasised the urgency of early and accurate diagnosis. “It is vital to understand that ordinary ailments can escalate in autistic children if unnoticed, often worsening behavioural challenges,” he stated. “Timely diagnosis, acceptance, and intervention are not just beneficial; they are critical for the child’s long-term well-being and development.”
Highlighting the resounding and quantifiable achievements of BMI, Mr. Abhyuday Shankar, Director of Operations at BMI said, “Over 15 years, we have helped 15,000 Indian families, and our data speaks for itself,” he said, presenting compelling statistics on their outcomes:
- “85% of nonvocal children we have worked with have achieved vocals and communication”
- “99% of our children have overcome their challenging behaviours”
- “40% of our children go to school without the need for an expensive shadow-teacher, integrating them into mainstream education.”
According to Mr. Shankar, the key to BMI’s success is the high degree of supervision provided. “We approach therapy with the precision of a surgeon. And such precision is only possible with intensive training and constant supervision,” he concluded. “That is the standard of care we are bringing to Kolkata through Mindspace Academy.”
The event had parents of the awardees share their difficult journeys of struggle and sacrifice to find adequate, modern, scientific, and ethical service providers. Parents described the heart-wrenching decision of leaving behind family and stable jobs, at enormous expense, to relocate to other cities in search of quality care for their children.
“Our son has learned so many skills using ABA. But I had to leave my job and move to Bangalore, just so we could go to BMI,” said one mother. Her emotional testimony of the hardships faced garnered applause from the audience. “We saw what was happening elsewhere, and we could not bear to see that happen with our son. But having this facility in Kolkata is a huge relief, and brings hope to other parents here.”
Mindspace Academy, powered by BMI’s technical expertise, has already begun delivering transparent, visible, verifiable, and evidence-backed progress in its first few weeks. The academy has commenced training Assistant Behaviour Technicians, conducting comprehensive assessments for children, and providing clinical supervision in line with rigorous international ABA norms.
