Ooruni – Freedom Carnival 2019 – Thoraipakkam – Autism Spectrum Disorder

Hi All,

sharing our experience when we visited the Freedom Carnival event organized by Ooruni Foundation. It was one of the most hyped events by Ooruni, which happens on 15th August ever year. Registration started atleast a month or so back, everyone who has registered were also called well ahead of the event date for confirmation about the head count and need of transportation facility etc … All the pre-work was really well
organized and amazed me.

This year the event happened in MNM Jain Engineering College, Subramanya Nagar Road, Thoraipakkam, Jyothi Nagar, Chennai 97. The college has a very big space, there were 2 cricket grounds, volleyball court, vast open spaces etc.. However the event was
conducted in the Guru Marudhar Kesari Building which was really cramped up for space.

We went to the place by car, once entered the college gate, there were volunteers guiding us to the parking, whereas there was no communication between them. There was a bus which is blocking the way for others to proceed to the parking space, after 20 mins of
wait, went to the parking space which is not a dedicated spot, parked it next to the cricket ground, where there was a match being played.

At the entry point we were asked to register by giving the names, i told we registered online a month back, but they insisted for registration again, which is a waste of time.
During registration they asked us to collect the kit, when inquired they told it was out of stock, we have sent somebody to pick it.

At the entrance, bow and arrow game was there, where we have to hit the ball that was floating through the bow and next to it was a moon bounce where kids were jumping. The moon bounce was in such a damaged condition, volunteers were directing kids not to jump near that section where it was damaged, but it was too late. The little opening where patch up work done has opened up big and they finally have to deflate it fully to fix it. For an event that was planned so many months in advance, these are the areas that should not have happened.

After that we entered the place where different stalls were put up, there appears one big hall with roof, crowded to the extent possible with special children and their parents. There was no Air ventilation, i felt suffocation, my son was sweating due to the humidity and lack of air. We were about to leave at that moment, however since we have come this far, wanted to see what has been arranged. We went through the game stalls, every stall is overcrowded to say the least. In the very same hall, in the stage there
was performances show cased by the special children like acting, dancing, yoga demonstrations etc …
Some how managed to get a turn in one of the stalls where i let my son to play a fishing game, for which they gave a keychain. My son gave the keychain back as he was least interested in it. After that i tried to engage my kid in some other activity …. they were preparing the tracks for train only at that point of time. The merry go around had a huge waiting line as well.
Finally we had enough, wiping off all the sweat and exasperation, we decided to come out, where we saw the stall by SCAN being put up, Mr.Gopi was standing there, went and spoke few words before leaving the place.

Most of the disabled people were part of a school, who came in buses in bulk. The event i felt was not organized well, even though there was lot of volunteers present in the place, they created more anxiety to the disabled than the environment. For kids with autism, the sensory overload (of all or any of the senses) is a triggering point of meltdown, this place had provided enough such experiences… No wonder my son wanted to leave early.

I have been selective in taking my son to places due to his sensory issues, since this was an yearly event, i cannot experience the atmosphere in advance before taking my son to this place, also this was my first time to freedom carnival organized by Ooruni.

Having said all of that big kudos to Ooruni Team for the event and offering it free of cost.

Few picks taken during our visit: