End of last year, when she heard about a camp for children with autism at the Calicut University, a woman in Kozhikode was unsure about taking her seven-year-old there. Among the list of speakers and coordinators, she saw the name of retired surgeon Dr CP Aboobacker. Though she was sceptical, on recommendation of some other parents of autistic children, she still went with her child to attend the camp at Calicut University in December 2021, and came home worried and unsettled, shooting off letters of complaint against him. Her son was badly beaten up, she alleged.
“My child was beaten in front of me. It was on the second day of the camp, called Inclusion Summit. The programme was titled Talent Hunt, meant to discover and promote talents among children with autism. The parents were to leave the children in the six classrooms allotted to them. The idea was to make them independent of us. But when I peeked in, I saw my seven-year-old running out of the classroom, alone and crying. I rushed to him, and asked a volunteer I knew there what happened. She said my son was not cooperating in the class. But even as we were talking, Dr Aboobacker appeared from nowhere and began questioning me. Who was I, he wanted to know. When I said I was a parent, he was angry, chided me for coming into the space reserved for the kids and then beat my child and dragged him away by the shoulder. He then shut the classroom door. I was panicking,” the mother says.
Much later, she came to know from the volunteer that the child was allegedly further beaten by the doctor, especially when he was crying aloud. TNM heard the volunteer's statement, corroborating the woman’s. "I was there. He did not deserve the beatings he got. I could feel his pain and the mental trauma he went through. I have a son with autism around the same age," the volunteer stated in a voice recording.
That night, the child woke up from his sleep, crying, appearing to relive the trauma, the mother recounts. "He now becomes scared even at the mention of any such training programme," the mother says.
Dr Aboobacker said that he does not want to comment on the issue, when TNM contacted him.
In her letter of complaint written to the State Disability Commissioner Panjapakeshan, the complainant parent from Kozhikode says that her little boy had been showing some progress with the therapy and schooling from the last four years. But the painful experience at Dr Aboobacker's camp has shaken him too badly, she says. She requests that such training methods be not allowed in autism camps anymore.
"No one has the right to harass a child. If such a thing happened, there would be a [criminal] case," says Panjapakeshan. He confirms that he received a complaint.
However, another group of parents came to him in support of the doctor, commending on the work he has done for kids on the autism spectrum.
"We have asked for a police report, and halted further camps for now. Once the report comes, further action will be decided," Panjapakeshan says.
An officer at the Thenjipalam station says that the police are making investigations and collecting statements. "We were asked to give a report to the Disability Commissioner. A mother had given the complaint to the commissioner. We will investigate, take statements and give the report."
Another parent who faced a similar situation in Kasaragod told an online media channel that he has also filed a police case against the doctor. The parent says that he saw his child getting beaten up with a cane and thrown to the ground when he came near his mother during the doctor's session. He also speaks of witnessing another child tied to a window in the class.
"If the doctor is qualified, he can conduct camps in ways allowed by the law. But no doctor has the right to abuse another person physically or mentally. I will not tolerate that, especially in the case of a child with disabilities. If such a thing happened, strong action will be taken," Panjapakeshan says.
Panjapakeshan repeats that a section of parents are in favour of the doctor. Sivadas AK, founder member of Autism Club Thiruvananthapuram, says this is true. There is divided opinion even among members of the Autism clubs across Kerala on the methods used by Dr Aboobacker. Sivadas is not supportive of the doctor's methods but acknowledges the amount of good work put in by the doctor in the early years for the benefit of children with autism. While the parents supportive of the doctor deny that he uses abusive methods to train the children, Sivadas and others say they have witnessed him do it.
Sivadas reckons that it is the rapport built between the parents and the doctor over years and through many classes that creates trust in his methods.
"The doctor conducts camps for children as well as for parents. These can be on various topics — psychology, family interaction, empowerment using narratives and so on. I have witnessed him beat children with autism. He tells parents that if a child throws tantrums, the parents should treat the child in the same way. He says, beat with hand or use sticks," Sivadas says.
Kochi-based special educator Seema Lal says using corporal punishment as a means to ‘handle’ autism is wrong on many levels. "Firstly, for any child with a disability, anxiety is a significant issue. Any learning method, whether the child has a disability or not, should not be inducing anxiety in the child. So, this method where a child is punished for a behaviour is certainly not done. Even in regular schools, corporal punishment has been ruled out. It is illegal. It is worse that a professional is recommending it, legitimising it for people who may not know better, making it worse," Seema says.
In the case of a child with a disability, every behaviour is a method of communication, she says. "It is not that the child is being difficult or misbehaving. It is that the child is going through a difficulty. Parents too need education on it. It is shocking that even some parents accept [hitting a child] as a legitimate method of disciplining them. Some believe it is for the betterment of the child, but as a methodology it has been outdated for so long."
Seema adds, "When a person is in a position of power and authority over the parent, and is advocating [physical violence], that makes it really worse. He has been a trusted source for so many people, for so many years. And these are parents in a vulnerable position already, who think their child needs 'correction'. Added to this, he is doing it on a public platform, not closed doors, which means he is convinced of his methods. That makes it even more dangerous."
Such methods also presume that it is a problem that austistic children’s behaviour diverges from the ‘norm’, when the ‘norm’ is informed by ableist frameworks which exclude disability and neurodivergence. Instead of establishing enabling methods that communicate with children in their language and methods they find easier to understand, actions like corporal punishment reinforce ableism and the stigma of intellectual disability. This is especially dangerous when developmental disabilities may be misunderstood and a child’s fear of punishment and trauma may be mistaken as them getting “better”.
Online sites such as Therapeutic Pathways and The Australian Parenting Website advocate gentle methods when it comes to disciplining children with autism, using positive reinforcement and non-violent consequences for negative reinforcement. The children, for instance, may not recognise the tone of a parent's voice when asked to do something, and therefore traditional techniques of discipline need not work. Therapeutic Pathways strongly says that a parent should refrain from using any kind of verbal or physical punishment but respond gently and positively. If a child is having a tantrum, respond clearly and consistently, online resources says. The Australian Parenting Website recommends praising and rewarding a child for appropriate behaviour.
Seema also asserts that violence is a no-go, and it is important to understand the context and use different methods to teach discipline. "Special education is not only about the child's point of view but educating the parents and the household. There was a belief once that to teach children, you have to hurt them. But saying that violence, or hurting another person comes out of love is not acceptable. Education means teach, not punish."
(With inputs from Geetika Mantri)