A child who cannot speak is not a child who cannot feel. A child who cannot tell us what happened at school deserves even greater protection.

I am a mother of a non-speaking autistic child from Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Like thousands of parents, I send my child to school every day with hope in my heart, but also with fear.

Was my child treated kindly today? Was anyone harsh? Was my child frightened, ignored or mistreated? Did someone offer comfort when it was needed?

Most children can come home and tell their parents what happened at school.

But what about children who cannot speak?

How will we know if they have been hurt? How can we protect them when they cannot explain what they have experienced?

No parent should have to live with this uncertainty.

And beyond safety, our children deserve something equally important — friendship, acceptance, meaningful education and a society that sees their worth.

We are appealing to the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu to take action on five essential demands.

Our 5 Requests

1. Make schools safer for non-speaking children.
Mandate CCTV coverage in classrooms and appropriate school spaces, with secure daily parental access and necessary privacy safeguards, so children with communication difficulties are better protected from mistreatment and neglect.

2. Teach autism awareness and acceptance.
Include autism awareness in school textbooks. Teach children, educators and society how to understand, respect, befriend and include autistic individuals.

3. Make inclusive education truly inclusive.
Provide trained teachers, individualised learning support and genuine opportunities for autistic children to participate, build friendships and belong.

4. Support working parents of autistic children.
Introduce flexible working hours, work-from-home options wherever possible and caregiver-support policies across government and private-sector workplaces.

5. Make autism therapies affordable and accessible.
Regulate unreasonable therapy fees, ensure quality standards and expand affordable therapy services so that no child is denied support because of financial difficulties.

We Are Not Asking for Sympathy. We Are Asking for Dignity.

Our children deserve to grow up without fear, discrimination or exclusion.

They deserve classmates who become friends, teachers who understand them, workplaces that support their parents and a government that protects their rights.

Our children may not communicate like others, but they feel love, fear, happiness, loneliness and pain just like everyone else.

As parents, we cannot always be beside them. But we should be able to trust that the world will treat them with kindness when we are not there.

Please Sign This Petition

I request every parent, teacher, therapist, student and concerned citizen to stand with us.

You do not have to be the parent of an autistic child to care about their safety and future.

Your signature can help us make Tamil Nadu a safer, kinder and more inclusive place for every autistic child.

Let us build a society where no child is invisible simply because they cannot speak.

Because every child matters. Every child deserves to be heard. Every child deserves to belong.

Mother of an autistic child
Chennai, Tamil Nadu