Youth Incorporated Magazine

Autism is a condition where a person struggles with social skills, speech and non-verbal communication. According to the Centres for Disease Control, 1 in 59 children is diagnosed with Autism.

Recently, an informal group on Facebook gained an appreciation for taking an initiative to change the perception of society who thinks that people with autism are socially awkward and are unable to take emotional decisions.

Five cool mothers from Mumbai, Chennai, Coimbatore and Bengaluru have been using social media to find life partners for their autistic sons who work at corporate firms in the cities.

This inclusive Matrimony group is open to parents of autistic children (both young and adult), each of whom is first checked by the mothers before being accepted as a member. The followers of the Facebook group have gone over 100 followers in no time.

 “Parents of special children always worry about their child’s future once they are gone. Inclusive Matrimony is a way of exploring an option for our children’s security,” said one of the mothers to TOI, whose 28-year-old son works in a bank. They moved to Dehradun when he was pursuing graduation and to Chennai where he completed his MBA.

“He works in a bank, travels on his own, makes every household purchase, but cannot talk well or understand sarcasm at all,” she said to TOI.

“This initiative is about seeking companionship for our children,” said another co-founder and mother from Mumbai to TOI, who has a 30-year-old autistic son working for a multi-national software company.

Her son is a genius with computers and lives in Bengaluru. She and her son tried using other mainstream matrimonial sites but received no response.

These group of mothers first started with a normal WhatsApp group but later realised that their initiative was not reaching the desired audience so they made the decision to take it to a broader platform where people from around the country can join and help each other.