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Submitted by PatientsEngage on 1 November 2019

Varun, 21, who is on the autism spectrum, has taken to running with a passion since the last 4 years and has participated in several challenging marathons successfully. His mother, Darshana, says running has kept him physically and mentally healthier and has been amazingly therapeutic.

How and when did Varun develop an interest in running?

Rather than saying developed an interest …. I would rather say kids/adults on the spectrum with autism are mostly dedicated and devoted to the things they like.

Varun, diagnosed with autism, has always been restless since childhood. Therapies like OT (Occupational Therapy) and ST (Speech therapy) were part of his routine since the age of two-and-half (from the time he was diagnosed). Swimming was also a part of his routine, as a physical exercise till the age of 10. The bad rains caused a lot of inconsistency in swimming, and as he grew the motives of therapy were changing too. This was also the time that running (marathons) was been spoken about. There were talks of professional trainers taking up routine and scientific based training. It was then that the idea of running as an alternative therapy crossed our mind.

How did he train to become a marathon runner? Did he get any trainer?

When we began our search for a good trainer, we were introduced to Mr. Kaushik Panchal (Runner’s Academy). We, as parents, were unsure about what to expect, as we didn’t know much about marathons. He, as a trainer, was unsure as he wasn’t aware about autism. The first week, a trial period, was a life changing week for Varun. He was 17 then, and he took to running like we had never imagined. Since then, till today for last four years, Varun has trained regularly with the Academy. We started Varun’s training under a condition that he be accompanied by one of us, as we knew him better. His interest in running gradually grew because of the love, respect, acceptance that was bestowed on him. His running pals not only inspire him but look upon him as a motivation. Today, Varun is known to all in the running group and they all eagerly wait to have a chance to run with him.

Varun gets trained for four days a week. They have a personalised plan of action for all runners including Varun. His plan is drawn keeping in mind his physiological and psychological needs. They have a regular (annual) health check-ups and dialogues with parents.

What were the challenge and difficulties he faced when he started running?

Running, as mentioned earlier, began like a therapy, but as we moved ahead under the guidance of Kaushik Sir and participated in various runs, we realised that Varun had to work on his inner strength and also follow a good diet. Varun goes to a gym for workout under the guidance of Prakash Sir, a physical trainer.

Most of these runs start early morning around 5 am. Varun had to get into the habit of going really early to bed and waking up as early as 3 am. Although Varun is a foodie at heart, he is cautious about his food before any run. He avoids fried food or overeating.

The most difficult thing at times for Varun is the chaos and the noise that’s around the start and end of any run. At times, the routes are pretty confusing or crowded due to narrow lanes.

Being on the autism spectrum, Varun tends to talk to himself due to which other runners, unknown to him, tend to stare. Or at times, he also has to bear with unwanted preachers, or people who treat him like a kid.

What motivation and support did you’ll have to provide him to develop this interest?

Varun is a self-motivated young man; he has been lucky and blessed to have supportive friends and mentors around him. We, as parents, only tried to seek all available opportunities that Varun could avail, approach them and spoke in detail regarding Varun’s diagnosis. The support, love, appreciation and encouragement that Varun gets from members of Runner’s Academy, who he fondly calls “RA Family”, means all to him.

A person who trains several times a week experiences the runner’s high (Varun can vouch for this). The natural feel-good endorphins that running releases could be one of the reasons that motivates Varun to run.

Lastly, the sense of achievement, the completion medal (which he flaunts all around his college and gym) and the healthy breakfast too motivates him.

Does he run alone or in tandem?

It’s been 4 years that Varun has been running, he used to run with his father at the beginning. Subsequently, he began running with some other members of the Academy.

Though Varun is quite aware of the location and places of frequent visit, the traffic, and unaware passers-by (runners) are the reasons that obstruct us from letting Varun run alone. We let him run by himself in safe surroundings. For instance, he ran the “Stadium Run” at Mumbai University Stadium alone in June 2019.

Please tell us something about his marathon records and milestones?

We won’t call them records, but yes they are milestone as each of this run had great impact on Varun, on the society that was seeing him run, his college - as these achievements were, to a certain extent, overshadowing his diagnosis. People around him began to view him beyond “Autism”.

His journey started in June 2016 with Trailblazer 10km qualifier which he finished in 56min. Since then, he has pushed his records rapidly ahead. In 2019, he participated in the Tata Mumbai Marathon (TMM) and ran 21km. In the Stadium Run he ran 20 km independently, in the Iagatpuri Mountain Challenge he ran 32km.

Now he is preparing for the big challenge in 2020. He has registered for the TMM Full Marathon of 42km.

Have you noticed any change in the emotional and physical health of Varun because of running?

As Varun ran these marathons, we saw him grow not just physically, but, more importantly, mentally and emotionally as well. It changed his attitude. He learnt to believe he could do it. Every time he completed a marathon it changed his attitude towards himself. His faith in self was exhibited on his face as confidence. It started with a positive attitude, and he now says to himself: “I can do it”. This change in him was exhibited in every aspect of his life. It helped him focus.

Like meditation, running demands that you train, and commit to one difficult task for an extended period of time. Both activities involve focusing on the breath at length and staying on track. Even at times when the body gives up, the mind is focused to finish the race. Running – or any other physical activity of your choice – builds the inner discipline and cultivates the focus you need to work. Varun is a winner at the end of every race.

Being a runner made him competitive, he competes with himself. He throws up his hands in victory and proclaims loud and clear “I won the race”.

The good news was that running not only helped him maintain weight, fight disease and sleep better. It kept him physically and mentally healthier, so could concentrate on his work.

With all these aspects getting moulded, when Varun was asked as “How do you feel about being a person with AUTISM? He just exclaimed “FABULOUS”. This one word is precise to explain what running has done to Varun as a human being.

What about his diet and medication – has there been any change?

Autism, is a developmental disorder and not an illness, it’s a condition and so there are no medication for the condition. Varun never had any kind of medication.

Varun also never had a specific diet, but we avoided packed food, precooked sealed food. He was also given very little sweet food and chocolates were completely avoided.

Do you think running is therapeutic and can improve behaviour and quality of life for children with autism?

As Varun started running, we only looked at it as a physical exercise. As mentioned above, it turned out to be therapeutic as running demands that you train and commit to one difficult task for an extended period of time.

Other then running what also helped Varun was the respect, acceptance and involvement from the other runners from Runner’s Academy. They all look upon him, motivate him and celebrate his small achievements.

Looking at Varun, I can’t say that it helped to improve his behaviour. As being a person with autism there are many things that could bother, excite him or make him uncomfortable. But saying this I would like to add that running has helped Varun develop his coping skill with people and to conditions around.

Could you give us some tips for other aspiring marathoners like Varun to achieve big?

It’s just been four years now that Varun has been running. Something that I have noticed is that practise, devotion and dedication has kept Varun on the go. He finishes his other assignments and task just to be able to go for a run.

What are his other interests?

Other than running marathons, he enjoys swimming (is really good at it), sings well and has done a couple of stage shows at various cultural events for FFA (Forum for Autism) and is passionate about cooking.

Varun aspires to be a Chef (baker), is pursuing his degrees B.Sc. in Hospitality (final year) at Patkar Varde college, Goregaon, Mumbai. He has completed his internship for 6 months at ITC Maratha.

How has Varun’s condition changed your life perspective and outlook?

Varun’s diagnosis hit us when he was two-and-half-year old. Yes it was too much to handle, but then it was there. So instead of wasting time on “Why me”, we looked beyond the diagnosis. Instead of looking for causes and resorting to the blame game, we took up the task as partners.

The first thing we did was disclosing the diagnosis very carefully (after being informed well ourselves) to out nearest adults (our parents) and sibling, as they were our support system. We never hid Varun from anyone (extended family and friends and even the school/college authorities) neither did we try to hide the diagnosis.

As Varun was growing, we could see him looking at himself through our eyes (there was no doubt about himself and there was always readiness for hard work).

So instead of calling it a condition, we rather look at it as Young Man tuned to be a different individual like anyone of us. We need to see the individuals and their potentials beyond the so-called condition.

The place where I like to see Varun is on the finishing line. "Running has changed him completely. When he crosses the finishing line and pushes his hands up in the air, I feel a glow inside because that's my son out there beating the odds, getting better, every time. I know he is growing as a person.”

(Darshana Chavan Sawant, mother of Varun, is a special educator and counsellor and Trustee, Forum For Autism (FFA)

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