Australia Awards South and West Asia

Australia Awards alum Sijan Shakya from Nepal has been working with children with autism and their parents for over16 years. To mark World Autism Day 2025, we highlight her work and contributions to this field.

Sijan is the Education and Training Coordinator at Autism Care Nepal Society (ACNS) – a pioneering autism organisation in Nepal run by passionate parents like Sijan herself to empower people with autism to participate meaningfully in social life. Founded on World Autism Day on 2 April 2008 with minimal resources, ACNS has now grown into a national centre, expanding its services to 56 districts across Nepal. Sijan has been an integral part of its growth. For Sijan, working in the autism field has felt more like a responsibility than a choice. Coming from a family that initially ran a jewellery shop first in Palpa and then in Butwal, she was somewhat inclined towards entrepreneurship.. Even as a management graduate, she believed that a career in business would be the best fit for her. “However, my career plan shifted once my child was diagnosed with autism”, she said.

Seventeen years have passed since that diagnosis, but Sijan still feels pain when she recalls those days. “It was terrifying”, she said. Sijan had observed  that her son’s development was not progressing as expected; for example, he was a quiet and calm child compared to his peers and was unable to stand on his own. However, she had not expected anything like autism – a term she had never heard before. Back then, the internet was not widely available and people relied mainly on newly opened cybercafes to access the web. Sijan and her husband began visiting these cybercafes to search for online resources on autism. After several attempts, they finally learnt that a Delhi-based organisation called “Action for Autism (AFA)” provided autism care services in India. They visited AFA with their child and attended a three-month parent-child training program. The training equipped Sijan with knowledge and skills about autism care, bolstering her confidence to look after her child.

Sijan in her office at Autism Care Nepal Society.

Having endured a painful experience due to the lack of proper information and services in Nepal, Sijan was determined to share her newfound expertise to support other parents and prevent them suffering as she had. By chance, Sijan met Dr Sunita Amatya, another Australia Awards alum, who had also travelled from Nepal to AFA and had similar experiences and feelings. Sijan learnt that Dr Sunita was reinvigorating Autism Care Nepal Society (ACNS) under her leadership to provide autism care support and services in Nepal. Seeing ACNS as an excellent platform to fulfil her passion for working in autism, Sijan decided to join it immediately.

Reflecting on her journey with ACNS, Sijan feels that she has grown professionally and personally. She initially started as a trainer in the parent-child training program at ACNS and gradually enabled herself to lead its Education and Training Department. Sijan now coordinates the Postgraduate Diploma programme, which ACNS has been running for the last five years in collaboration with Kathmandu University. Sijan credits her professional growth to the encouragement and support from ACNS and her family. ACNS entrusted her with responsibility and provided her with learning opportunities and exposure. Soon after she joined, ACNS sponsored her for a one-year postgraduate diploma in special education at AFA in 2010. In 2016, she was selected to be part of an Australia Awards Short Course on Inclusive Education at the Queensland University of Technology. To develop her competence relevant to her profession, Sijan pursued a postgraduate diploma and then a Master of Psychology. Currently, she is studying for an MPhil in Early Childhood Development at Kathmandu University.

After joining ACNS with limited knowledge but enormous passion, Sijan has made significant contributions in this field. She has conducted functional assessments of 250 children with autism and developed individualised education plans for them. She has also trained their parents on best practice in autism care.

She has trained around 300 schoolteachers from various districts, including Jhapa, Rupendehi, Chitwan, Gulmi and Kaski, on how to support children with autism. The Postgraduate Diploma program in Special Education with a focus on autism, which she coordinates, has benefitted approximately 40 students. Some of them have already joined Nepal’s workforce as skilled professionals.

Referring to the Inclusive Education Short Course she had attended through Australia Awards, Sijan said, “It has changed my perspective, especially regarding how we cope with challenges.” Sijan used to always work under high pressure and feel stressed and burned out. “The training taught me how to cope with challenges in an easier way, ensuring that we are adequately prepared not only physically but mentally too,” she said.

Sijan feels fortunate to have had the chance to understand autism and contribute in any way she can. However, not all parents receive this chance. She has experienced firsthand the challenges faced by many children with autism and their parents. “Firstly, there is a lack of awareness and information about autism,” she said. “Even those who are relatively aware hesitate to openly talk about their autistic children due to the social stigma associated with it. Given their special situation, children with autism need special care and support. Unfortunately, such services are not easily accessible in Nepal.”

Sijan believes that World Autism Day is a prime opportunity to address these challenges. Reflecting on the success of a concert that ACNS organised in collaboration with the Australian Embassy to celebrate the day in 2023 in Kathmandu, Sijan said, “This day can be a great opportunity to raise autism awareness among the mass population.” Given that many people still hesitate to discuss autism openly, Sijan sees raising awareness as the starting point. For her, World Autism Day is also a reminder of her commitment to work for the cause of autism care. Despite the experience and expertise, she has gained through her professional journey, Sijan still feels that there is more to learn.  “Autism care is an everyday process,” she says. Her ultimate goal is to support children with autism in any way she can.