A full 32 years ago, in 1987, Niranjan’s aunt told Ramamani, “Look, Niranjan is not meeting his milestones. You must see a doctor.”

In a Tamil Brahmin joint family where a child’s every milestone is eagerly looked forward to and celebrated, it wasn’t as though no one had noticed. It was just that no one thought it serious enough to consult a pediatrician, as the boy otherwise looked healthy. At times kids crack milestones late. “My son began to talk when he was two years old,” said a relative.

Niranjan was then 18-months and his lawyer mother, Ramamani, was pursuing her CA. She spent her time in her books and office as her little one received the love, attention, and affection of both his grandma and his great grandma. To her, being a first time mother, nothing seemed wrong with her child.

One day her sister-in-law remarked, “Ramamani I must talk to you. When you leave for work, Niranjan isn’t upset. He doesn’t cry. When you return home, he isn’t thrilled. An average kid does not behave like this. You must take him to a doctor.” The alarm bells began to ring.

The first visit to the pediatrician in June 87 set the cat amongst the pigeons. He directed them to a neurologist who said, “It’s about delayed development.” Specialists never told them what was wrong beyond indicating, “He is not okay.” It hurt Ramamani and her husband, CA Ravi Kannan. What should they do with their child? Could they discard him like he was a faulty product?

Worse followed. Even after Niranjan turned two, he didn’t walk. Most babies take their first steps between 9 and 12 months and walk well in another three months. The crisis took the Ravis to Dr. Sriram, Madras’ renowned orthopedic. He examined the boy, carried out tests, and said, “His legs are made to walk.” The good doctor did what no other doctor had done: give Ramamani Ravi a wild chance. It was a glimmer of medical hope, not religious faith, and led to a series of regular therapy sessions.

Six months later, one day as Niranjan stood, Ramamani showed him an inch tape. He moved a fraction forward to pick it, and she slowly withdrew her hand. The little one continued to inch towards her. He had taken his first few steps in walking. Ramamani’s eyes went moist. Of course, his actions were like a robot, his body stiff and hands stretched full. But it still was a walk. Someone said, “Don’t put him to sleep tonight lest he forgets the knack of walking tomorrow.” Luckily, the following morning, he remembered not to forget. And over time, he improved.

His growth, however, continued to be slow and in 1990, Ravi and Ramamani took Niranjan to NIMHANS in Bangalore. It was there the doctors told them the problem with their child: autism. More important, they explained the need for coordinated efforts of the family, therapists, and educators.

A few years earlier, in another part of India, a senior corporate professional and his wife struggled to come to grips with the fact that their young, intelligent, teenaged son now had schizophrenia. In between, in western India, a thirty something doctor delivered a spastic, and life would never be the same for the couple. Years later, in her early 20s, the child would die, but the parents had the comfort of having been with the kid until its end.