ARC - Autism Research Centre - (A joint Initiative of Parent Support Group for Autism, Rotary Club of Khadki and SaaD, Pune)

The initiators of this idea are Parent Support Group, who felt a dire need to create an institution that will train all Autistic Children. They also believed in active parental involvement in training so that they emerge as active facilitators. The Parent Support Group for Autism decided to house themselves in close proximity to the center so that they can oversee the functioning of professionally managed center. The Parent Support Group for Autism pooled resources and bought land admeasuring 132,000 Sqft for the center and their own residential accommodation in year 2016. The Parent Support Group for Autism have transferred 65000 Sqft Land to ARC Trust that has been formed and registered to implement the Autism Project.

SaaD is an established Trust (E-5578) that has been undertaking activities to help differently abled children. SaaD goal is to assist differently abled become independent and contribute to the society to the best of their abilities. Since year 2001, SaaD has been working to train not only the children but also the parents and care givers. Since there is great paucity of skilled persons in this burgeoning area, SaaD works towards training the trainers and also create a body of knowledge that can be shared. SaaD has developed the ‘Home School’ concept and ten (10) such schools are in operation where most trainers work on honorarium. Its principal Trustee, Mrs S. Lele has a vast experience in special education and she leads the training activities for children including her son aged 26.

It was SaaD that persuaded the Parent Body to embark on setting up the residential center that is now the Autism Project and interested the RCK to actively support the cause.

RCK is club with three decades of history of social work especially in the area of health. It’s a club with well-honed social conscience that shows up in the outreach programs that it has undertaken.

Programmes initiated by SaaD for the Autism children were in sync with RCK’s healthcare outreach. RCK initiated assistance to SaaD to help them pay for the operating expenses with their continuing training programmes. This initiative has been solely possible because of the generous assistance, help and encouragement given by Tata Hendrickson Suspensions Pvt. Ltd. Ltd (THS) a JV between Hendrickson of Australia and a leading company from TATA group of India.