‘Tridev’ actress Sonam shares experience of being mother to an autistic son in the 90s

Actress Sonam who is known for lsquoTridevrsquo and lsquoVishwatmarsquo is reflecting on her journey and process of acceptanceOn Wednesday the actress took to his Instagram and shared an array of pictures with her son Gaurav Rai The post features throwback pictures and some new pictures as well She also penned a long note in the caption as she shared how she found acceptance with her sonrsquos autismView this post on InstagramA post shared by Sonam Khan sonamkhan_72She wrote ldquoNo two autistic children or adults are alike They are like fingerprints Unique As a young mother at age 20 I actually grew up with my son who is autistic It was the 90s People didnrsquot even know the spelling of Autism and even if a few knew there was a thought process which screamed that Autism was a stigma Along with zero awareness zero integration zero empathy I had to hear lines like lsquoIsko koi problem hain kyarsquo what is wrong with him lsquoIsko mental problems hain kyarsquoDoes he have mental problems I would go with my son to birthday parties either we both were totally invisible and if visible we were sniggered at Donrsquot get me wrong Irsquom not being bitter they didnrsquot know better Some still donrsquot know better thatrsquos ok toordquoThe actress further mentioned that she would come home from parties or social gatherings and invariably start crying nonstop all alone in the bathroom after her son was fast asleep She called it an extremely tough journey during which she used to hug her son and sleepShe shared ldquoOne night while my son was fast asleep I got this huge sense of strength which overwhelmed me That night I decided that I had to learn a few things the hard way for him and myself details some other day which I gladly did and happily so Sometimes with a smile sometimes with a struggle but mostly with both I can be extremely stubborn if I decide to do something that too if itrsquos for a good reasonrdquoShe continued ldquoHere it was my son I hate sympathy Now I donrsquot even need empathy either I would like to thank rajiv_rai_ for being an excellent father till this date He spared nothing monetarily in the education of our son If my experience helps even one family or that one mother or that one father I would consider it to be a win So here are my thoughts for everyone who are caregivers to children or adults with autism Today my son at 32 is a kind loving amp caring personrdquoldquoThere is so much more to write so much more to learn but for now Autism to me is A Acceptance U Unconditional love T Trusting the process I Introspection S Slow ampamp steady support M Motivation Be relentless ampamp advocate neurodiversity You can do it You shall do itrdquo she addedSonam was married to producerdirector Rajiv Rai with whom she worked on lsquoTridevrsquo and lsquoVishwatmarsquo The two have a son Gaurav Rai who was diagnosed with autism at an early age In 1997 the couple left India for the UK after a failed attempt to kill him by hitmen believed to be working for the Mumbai underworld leader Abu SalemThe couple initially lived in Los Angeles and then settled in Europe However the marriage deteriorated and they got divorced officially in 2016 after 25 yearsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever