A Journey to Joy: Celebrating One Year of EmpowerBx’s Strength-Based Autism Support

It’s all about small, constant steps with the family—and seeing every child through a strengths-based lens.

Last July, Ira Verma* was in search of a behaviour therapist for her toddler son. The now nearly 4-year-old Jai* had been diagnosed with Autism and advised early intervention. New South Wales-based Ira says she was seeking someone who would genuinely care for her child – who has more than typical needs. 

Around the same time, 31-year-old Board Certified Behavior Analyst Karishma Khullar, was just venturing out on her own to build a practice dedicated to helping families and individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Karishma, the founder and director of EmpowerBx, says she “dared myself to put out a post on Facebook saying that I’m available to walk this journey with you..” With a belief that a child who is happy, relaxed and engaged (HRE) is more receptive to learning and development. Karishma swears by the compassionate application of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA).

Prioritising a child’s safety, dignity, and trust in every interaction

That post – and Karishma’s approach – caught Ira’s attention. “What I liked about Karishma was her honesty and empathy for both the parents and the children she works with. She thinks holistically about the family, and not just the child,” she shares. 

Now, one year since they first began Early Childhood Support services with EmpowerBx, Ira reflects that the compassion she experienced at the start continues to shape their work with Jai today. Compassion – through prioritising the safety, dignity, and trust of your child above all else – is at the heart of the work at EmpowerBx, which marked its one-year anniversary this July 1. 

At the start of the intervention, Karishma says, she observed Jai’s immense potential and made it a goal to show the parents what work was required to ensure that he is able to reach it. “I focused on giving the children I work with the right support that can only come through dedicated services,” she says, adding that their journey has also included guidance on how to utilise the government funds that have been allocated for Jai’s support and determining the adequate number of hours of support the family should be seeking.

“It’s an ongoing journey to make them understand how an evidence-based approach can help in the development of their child," Karishma adds. 

Building communication through strengths, not expectations

In the early days of intervention, Ira and her husband made a wishlist of what they hoped to get out of the services. At the top of the list was the longing for their son to show them affection. Ira describes Jai as being “non-verbal,” meaning he does not follow the typical vocal form of communication, making the display of affection and building a connection with the child incredibly hard. 

At EmpowerBx, the focus is on understanding the child’s individual strengths and using those strengths to foster connection and communication.

Karishma quickly picked up on Jai’s incredible gross and fine motor skills, and in her work towards unlocking his unique voice, began teaching him how to imitate. She also created hand signals for everyday expressions such as “no”, “eat”, “finished”, which he picked up fast. Simultaneously, she worked on teaching Ira and her husband signs of assent and withdrawal of it and observing his body language to spot signs of the presence or absence of HRE (Happy, Relaxed and Engaged).

A big part of the services includes training parents to recognise and build on their child’s communication strengths, rather than trying to shape how the child communicates based on their own expectations. Some typical expectations include back-and-forth conversations or engaging in greetings and farewells the way neurotypical children do. Parents also often expect their child to eventually speak using full sentences, viewing verbal communication as the sole “successful” outcome.

Communication is much broader than just talking. It is any expression, verbal or non-verbal that comes out of frustration, emotional overload or noise sensitivity.

“Jai has a lot of communication that is built in him. Now we have to find what his voice can be and not what we want him to be saying,” explains Karishma.

This approach, while challenging, has been fruitful. “He seeks out for his mum and dad, which earlier was not the case,” shares Ira. “Even though it's still a long journey and things will take time, the connection I was seeking has been achieved.”

This journey to joy, a part of EmpowerBx’s values, is all about small but constant steps with the family to help them attain a strength-based perspective. 

Respecting traditions, empowering participation

EmpowerBx primarily supports culturally and linguistically diverse families, and providing culturally-sensitive services that empower individual families is built into the organization’s values. When Karishma enters the home of Noor Alnajjar* – whose family is of Arabic descent and now resides in New South Wales – she is mindful of how she dresses to ensure she is respectful of the family’s values and traditions. “I try to be mindful of whatever I've observed in their culture,” explains Karishma.

Noor’s 9-year-old daughter, Layla*, was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 2, and Karishma has been providing the family Behaviour Support Services for the past four years. During the last Ramadan, Layla also decided to fast, which Karishma says she whole-heartedly encouraged. “Don't you wanna be a part of the feast?” she excitedly asked Layla at the time, and the young girl responded with enthusiasm. 

It’s about building a connection with the family and supporting Layla in connecting with their religious values, because at its core, that’s what unites them as a family. The goal going forward, explains Karishma, is to give Layla the voice and agency to make the choice of how strictly she wants to follow those values herself. 

Walking the journey together, step by step

Noor also highlighted that Karishma has guided the whole family, including Layla’s two sisters, on how to best support Layla which is thoughtfully tailored to the Alnajjar family’s needs and aspirations. 

“The more families I see, the more I realise that difficulties are present in all our lives. These particular families just have it harder,” says Karishma. “The clinician – or whoever else is working with families that need support – they really need to be bringing joy in these people's lives. It's about helping them to see what a neurodivergent connection can look like.”

*Name has been changed to protect the individual’s identity.