Thila Laxshman

Thila Laxshman, a Tamil songbird, began the Love Autism Society of Malaysia (Persama) in 2012 to raise awareness regarding autism and help parents who have children under the spectrum.

Her inspiration behind founding it was her son, Danvi, who is also autistic. He was diagnosed after they noticed changes in his behaviour at the age of three, which was around the same time she secured her dream job and chose to quit after a short while.

The organisation currently has 300 parents as members nationwide. Persama works to help other families with autistic children understand the specific needs of their children. However, their focus is to assist low-income families to gain specialised healthcare and awareness services.

Thila organises Jananam through Persama, an event held to generate funds for the NGO annually. In 2022, Persama collaborated with JKFashion, a designer, for the Autism Rules Fashion 2022 event. The event became a platform for Danvi and other autistic children to showcase their art paintings using clothing as a medium. The profits from the event were channelled to families of autistic artists.

Making an impact overall gives me a deep meaning, love is the key to everything in this world. Reaching out to those in need with love is all about myself. I see and feel love in every little thing that I do. It keeps me going and keeps me lifted.