A child sits cross-legged on the floor, her fingers dipped in paint. Blue blends into yellow, then green, not within the lines, not following any rule. Just instinct and pure joy.

Across the room, her parents watch quietly. Their smile is not loud or celebratory. It is softer and heavier, carrying years of confusion, fear, and searching. Now, it holds something new: relief.

They don’t interrupt. They don’t correct.They simply watch, and for a moment, allow themselves to feel something they haven’t always had the luxury of feeling, ease.

This is what hope looks like at the Akshadhaa Foundation.

A Bengaluru-based, parent-led organisation, Akshadhaa works with children on the autism spectrum and their families, bringing together therapy, education, and life-skills training under one roof. More than a service provider, it is a system built from lived experience, designed by parents who once struggled to find the right support for their own child.

Over the years, the foundation has touched the lives of nearly 2,000 children and 3,200 families, each journey shaped by a shared need for understanding, continuity, and care.

“When you begin this journey as a parent, everything is uncertain, what to do, where to go, and what will work,” says Sumana Dutta, co-founder of Akshadhaa Foundation.

“What we wanted to build was a space where that uncertainty reduces, and the child can simply grow, in their own way, at their own pace, with the right support.”

That quiet moment, a child immersed and a parent at peace, is what Akshadhaa has spent over a decade trying to make possible.

When the journey becomes personal

For Sumana and Anirban Dutta, this work did not begin as a professional decision. It began as a deeply personal turning point, the moment their daughter was diagnosed with autism at the age of three and a half.

At the time, Sumana was not from the field of special education. Trained in computer science, she had worked in the corporate sector before moving into a school setting in Kolkata, seeking a more balanced life.

“My journey has two innings,” she says. “The first was in computer science and teaching. The second, the one I have been in for over 17 years, began because I am a mother.”

The diagnosis changed everything.

“I was looking for solutions, ways to engage her and support her better,” Sumana recalls. “But when I look back, I realise that what was available wasn’t really helping.”

What she encountered instead was a system full of gaps.

“There was no individualised approach,” she explains. “Every child is different, their strengths, challenges, and pace, but the system didn’t reflect that.”

Services existed, but in fragments. Parents were left to piece them together on their own, moving across the city based on word-of-mouth recommendations, navigating long waitlists and high costs.

“Even when you find support, there is often no proper documentation, no reports, no way to track progress over........

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