Summary Of The Mind Tree By Tito Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay

Autistic. A single word. An adjective. Eight letters. How can the human race sum up the whole of an individual in one word? The Mind Tree, written by Tito Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay, an autistic child, who began to record personal feelings at the young age of eight years. Tito Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay described heartfelt emotions and thoughts in this eloquently written memoir. Any preconceived opinions and assumptions held on the abilities of autistic people dissolved into positive insight. This simple account written by Mukhopadhyay has led readers into the world that many people with autism face. Finally, the world begins to comprehend the large scale of cruelty shown to the unfortunate… and all because of a little boy’s words.

“Tito” Rajarshi

Mukhopadhyay, the autistic author of The Mind Tree, was born and raised in Bangalore and Mysore, India (Mukhopadhyay, Tito Rajarshi; Savarese, Ralph James.). Tito was diagnosed with low-functioning autism (Mukhopadhyay, Tito Rajarshi.; Savarese, Ralph James.). Low functioning autism is a severe case of autism and results in little to no language skills and some degree of mental deficiency ("Low Functioning Autism.). Throughout all the struggles, Soma, Tito’s mother, was a teacher and guide. Soma thought the child with only a little professional help and dedicated time and energy to help Tito. This unfailing determination paid off and at the age of six, Tito was able to write individually. Tito and Soma now work to help other children acquire well-deserved abilities ("Halo-Soma - Rapid Prompting Method for Autism - Www.halo-soma.org."; Mukhopadhyay, Tito Rajarshi).
Tito’s insightful comments prove that society underestimates people with autism. “The effect of a cause becomes the cause of another effect” (Mukhopadhyay, 1). Mukhopadhyay possesses great talent and can look at things in a different perspective, something many people struggle with. Tito also says, “One day I dream that we can grow in a matured society where nobody would be ‘normal or abnormal’ but just human beings, accepting any other human –– ready to grow together” (Mukhopadhyay, 90). A simple sentence written by an eight year old child embodies the feelings of many individuals who only ask to be accepted. Tito understood the concept of rejection that children should not even encounter at such a young age. People must reconsider the common point-of-view regarding autistic children and adults. Tito comprehends the unjustness of the situation and one day, hopefully, our society will be able to fulfill the boy’s dreams.
Mukhopadhyay incorporates inspiring evidence of the success of someone so severely autistic. “Tito” Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay began as a boy with, unfortunately, almost no hope. However, Tito was lucky to have had support throughout the duration of the despairing years. Mukhopadhyay’s mother, Soma, was determined that Tito would be successful. “She got up at 4am…then prepared a ‘goal’ for the day…After breakfast, the task began” (Mukhopadhyay, 25). One example of a goal Soma set for Tito is a puzzle to complete during the course of the day. For the average child, this type of task would not take long; however, for Tito, it would be particularly challenging. Perseverance and hard work paid off and Soma had the opportunity to witness Tito’s progression from holding a pencil to writing moving poems. Following is a poem written by Tito at the age of eleven.

“Yet when time stares at face
Yet when life seems meaningless
Ask yourself all your bless
For some like you may have less”
- (Mukhopadhyay, 125)
This young author inspires others around the world.

Tito and his mother now work to help other people with autism and volunteer their time for research. Clearly, Tito follows the same path to success as world leaders, such as Colin Powell, who stated, “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” ("Hard Work Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.) Even though Tito will probably never be a world leader, he is a leader and role model in his own way.

As a talented young author, “Tito” Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay proves to the general public that people with autism are severely underrated. Tito is undoubtedly a capable autistic writer, but could also rival with adult authors of today. In this challenging memoir, Tito displays poetic skills as an eight year old. During a span of several years, the growing boy expresses the emotions in daily life…the struggle of learning to read and write, to go to a gym, to swim. All these diminutive acts that children don’t realize are so important. Tito draws to light the reality of the daily challenges that many children and even adults don’t even think about. In truth, autistic people and others with conditions impairing certain abilities shouldn’t be referred to as disabled. Actress Terry Ann “Teri” Garr believes that, “When you hear the word 'disabled,' people immediately think about people who can't walk or talk or do everything that people take for granted. Now, I take nothing for granted. But I find the real disability is people who can't find joy in life and are bitter.” ("Teri Garr Quote." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.) Will Tito’s message ever be heard? Will autistic people ever be accepted? It all depends on the individuals of today’s

society…