Tarun Paul Mathew

Tarun Paul Mathew

Tarun Paul Mathew, an autistic young adult from Kochi. He primarily expresses himself by typing, as he is non-speaking.

Tarun keenly pursues scholarly learning, with mathematics ranking as his top interest. He’s an avid music enthusiast and this extends to learning the keyboard. An avid reader, Tarun immerses himself in a diverse range of literary works, including fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. His curiosity about the natural world is profound, and he finds great joy in immersing himself in nature documentaries, particularly those exploring aquatic life.

A passionate self-advocate, Tarun constantly shares his experiences as a non-speaking autistic through blogs, interviews and panel discussions. Some of the forums he has participated in include the webinar hosted by Action for Autism (May 2024), resource person for caregiver support groups (UN) and training programs (Kerala state govt Know Autism program). He has also been a Purple Ambassador at the National Trust Autism Conclave (2023) and a presenter at the UN WAAD program in 2023. Tarun is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Institute of Neurodiversity (ION) India chapter. He is also a co-author of the book ‘Talking Fingers – Voices of Indian Non-Speaking Autistics’. He has also recently co-created a group on social media for non-speaking autistics from across the world – Silent Expressions.

According to Tarun, Inclusion is when people become interested in his thoughts and opinions. To quote him, “Freedom to really just be me, that I value a lot. I like to be accepted as more than my autism and not be only included just for keeping up appearances.”