Dear readers, welcome back to another interview in this series where you meet the individuals who shared their precios lived experiences in our storybooks, thanks dear Kabir.
Q) Please introduce yourself to our readers..
Hello, my name is Kabir Harish Nair. I am 19 years old. A college student in his 2nd year pursuing Bachelor of Arts. I am a Lucknowite—it is my birth place after all. One which alongside numerous cities holds the heritage of India. I shifted to Pune for a few years. The city also had therapists sent by god who helped me live with my Autism. I returned here in 2013, and studied in a mainstream Co-Ed school and with the support of my parents—who were always there to support me — I faced the obstacles. I failed to achieve a few dreams of mine. Landed on my love for fiction. And now I am trying to major in English Literature and Psychology. Speaking of my interests…
Q) Would you like to share your interests and hobbies with us?
Psychology and English Literature are my main interests as you can tell. To understand the human mind and tackle the various issues which humans have to confront—and also animals. With compassion by the way. And for English Literature, my interest came from superhero movies. Then I learnt the differences between different forms of fictions, and literature. And I got invested in it. Aside from that, sports are also something which I have a longing for. Especially Cricket and Football. I used to aspire to become a sportsman but let’s just say it didn’t work out, which led me to the world of fiction. I also have interest in gardening, music and drawing art.
Q) Please share a few sentences about the books that feature you and the incidents related in the books..
To talk about a book which features me—I will be taking the book titled ‘Kabir & His World of Super Senses’, published by ‘Anupam Prayaas Foundation’. The book shows the mentions of sensory issues which features me wearing soft clothes and walking on toes due to feeling the prickly sensations—thus me wearing special weighted shoes in the story. The book also talks about me having issues with tying laces and thus having shoes which had Velcro which refers to delayed motor development. And lastly, the incident of certain foods making me sick is also featured. All these incidents were faithfully depicted since I learned to tie my shoe laces in grade six and even today I am relatively slow at tying them compared to most people. And yes I also have had a fair share of toe walking and feel uncomfortable in standard clothes where the weighted shoes and therapy helped me deal with the sensations overtime. And the depiction of certain foods making me sick also was shown well since I couldn’t eat anything made of wheat and gooey textures. So I believe that the book depicts the struggles of mine really well.
Q) How did it feel to see your lived experience in an illustrated book?
Most of the feelings are already mentioned in the previous answer but yeah it was immensely relieving to see my experience being depicted in the book in a faithful and earnest manner and gives me hope for the future of the ones on the Spectrum—that their struggles will be seen and heard and understood. Especially in my younger years, the understanding of the classmates and teachers alongside my parents is what immensely helped me develop. So I have nothing but gratitude for this.
Q) Please share your thoughts on inclusion and how we can work towards a better tomorrow..
I believe the way we can build a better tomorrow is by spreading awareness about Autism and inclusion. Because of the lack of awareness, a lot of people believe that it’s a disease or even worse can be partial towards others and discriminatory too. And in some cases—the parents can even abandon their kids or neglect them due to not accepting their child. Autism studies should be included in the education policies of the nation so as to teach children about what it is and how to be inclusive. This also teaches the students to be kind and empathetic. There should be campaigns and workshops to spread awareness about it and let the ones who have experienced lives as ones on the Spectrum share their experiences. And, such experiences should also be faithfully depicted in media so as to spread the voice of the ones who are on the Spectrum.
Thanks to the initiative by Anupam Prayaas Foundation for all their efforts and initiatives.
Do watch the animated version of his storybook:
