Discover what’s possible when you approach conversations with an open heart.

Have you ever had to advocate for yourself or an autistic loved one in public? Did you find those conversations difficult to handle?

Whether you’re autistic, a family member, or someone who wants to learn about how to advocate for others, you’ll want to listen to this episode with Shreya Jain, where she describes how she supports her autistic younger brother, Suvrat, who is also her inspiration.

Shreya Jain is the CEO and founder of Reservoir, India’s largest digital community of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Still in her 20s, Shreya has already built a safe space to connect families with resources and professionals. The team at Reservoir is driven by a passion to make India a truly inclusive country for people who are differently-abled.

Shreya’s mother, Sangeeta Jain, has been working closely with the Global Autism Project for several years. In 2010, we partnered with SOREM, a school in Chandigarh, and have since sent over 20 SkillCorps® volunteer teams to provide hands-on training to their staff. To learn more about our SkillCorps® volunteer program, you can listen to episode 151 from last September with Team India.

This episode with Shreya was first released in May of 2020. We’re re-releasing it today to highlight how Reservoir has been changing the lives of autistic individuals and their families in India.

Since recording this episode, Shreya has been focusing on creating systems that work for both her and Suvrat in the long-run. Their mother Sangeeta has also since started a group home for Suvrat and some of his peers.

In this conversation, among other things, we discuss:

• How autism is understood in India
• Shreya’s relationship with her autistic brother Suvrat
• What it was like for Shreya’s family to have her brother be repeatedly rejected by multiple schools
• Shreya’s first lessons of advocacy and why it’s important to educate children about autism at an early age
• Why Shreya left the pharmaceutical industry for a path of entrepreneurship

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We’d like to give a shout out to our SkillCorps® 2024 Title Sponsor, Action Behavior Centers. We’re excited to be partnering with businesses to create opportunities for employee development and growth through our SkillCorps® program.

SkillCorps® Business Partners endorse employee participation in our SkillCorps® program and provide support to selected sponsored employees through granting time-off, providing funds to support team member fundraising, and more!

Thank you, Action Behavior Centers, for being a model organization in the industry.

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