Amal Joshy, an Inclusys-trained professional who is now with a leading IT services firm | Ujwal P.P.
New beginnings: Don Thomas Punnoose | Ujwal P.P.
A candidate at Inclusys Neuro Org, a startup exclusively for neurodivergent youth | Ujwal P.P.
He is at work, wearing a red shirt with a Chinese collar. Through his thick glasses, he peers at his screen to check whether his keystrokes are accurate. Pings from his teammates in Bengaluru occasionally flash on screen; every now and then, his guide Jincy helps him better understand the tasks. Commitment defines his work―there is no room for idle chatter, cigarette breaks or water-cooler chats. A lunch-break at precisely 1pm punctuates his workday; an hour later, the afternoon session starts and goes on till 4:30pm.
“My name is Don Thomas Punnoose,” he says. “I am 31 years old, and I work for Crayon, a company based in Bangalore.”
Don’s voice is soft, and he does not make eye contact. He has overcome Down syndrome to become an adept IT professional at Crayon, a multinational firm specialising in software, cloud, data and AI solutions.
Crayon hired him after a three-round selection process. “I was very happy when I got selected. Because they said, ‘You have a good command of English,” says Don.
His mother, Laila Punnoose, is happy and proud. “On January 31, Don completed one year at Crayon, and the company extended his contract for another year,” she says. “Last Christmas, he gifted some money to his elder sister and told her, ‘Buy whatever you want.’ In the past, his sisters used to offer him pocket money; but this time, he did.”
Don was born when Laila was 39, as the youngest of her three children. A former teacher in Bahrain, she lost her husband 15 years ago. “Seven years ago, after my retirement, we returned to our hometown in Kerala. It was not easy for Don, who had been in Bahrain his entire life,” says Laila. “He had completed O-level in the British curriculum, and he was good in geography. But after we returned to Kerala, I was worried about what he would do. He stayed home for close to two years, before undergoing some vocational training. Then came an organisation named Inclusys. Their training [in IT skills] helped him get a job, lifting a major worry from my heart.”
Currently, Don works remotely from a development and training hub run by Inclusys Org Foundation, which works to enhance the lives of “neurodivergent” individuals like Don by equipping them with skills in fields such as AI, data annotation and no-code software development.
A non-medical term, ‘neurodivergence’ characterises people whose brains develop, or function, differently from a typical one for various reasons. It serves as an umbrella term for conditions such as autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, Down syndrome and intellectual disabilities. In India, neurodivergent individuals often find it difficult to get jobs, particularly in corporate settings, because of stigma, bias and the dynamic nature of workplaces.
Learning curve: Levin Eldose, a neurodivergent professional, assists special educator Sr Roncy Tom during a training session | Ujwal P.P.
A neurodivergent professional at work | Ujwal P.P.
A parent and child during a workday at Inclusys | Ujwal P.P.
“However, neurodivergent individuals often possess specific qualities that are advantageous in fields like IT,” says Smitha George, skilling and delivery head, Inclusys. “For example, a number of them exhibit attention to detail and the ability to perform repetitive tasks without boredom. Additionally, their work etiquette, discipline and commitment are noteworthy. We established this organisation because we recognised that targeted skill development can significantly enhance their employment readiness in the IT industry.”
Inclusys is a not-for-profit company founded in 2022 by Robin Tommy, a digital technology strategist who heads TCS Rapid Labs, and Joseph Koluthuvallil, a Catholic priest who has extensive experience in the social welfare space. “Compared with many other sections of differently abled people, neurodivergent individuals receive less support from the government and other agencies,” says Joseph. “Robin, who has worked and researched neurodivergent individuals for over a decade, shared insights into the scenario and job opportunities in the IT sector. This led us to create this initiative, which has surpassed our expectations.”
Inclusys has trained more than 150 neurodivergent individuals for IT companies. Says Reshmi Ravindranathan, associate consultant at TCS and mentor-facilitator at Inclusys: “Those who complete training engage in foundational tasks such as data cleaning, data segmentation, data transcription, data annotation and even video annotation and transcription―areas where they excel.”
Learning the ropes: Aby Antoo (right) and Majo Philip, who were recruited by FedServ | Ujwal P.P.
Inclusys aims to train more than 500 neurodivergent individuals in Kerala by 2025, and plans to extend the initiative to other parts of India. “Among the 150-plus individuals we have trained, 18 have been employed by companies such as Tata Consultancy Services, FedServ, Crayon, and Fragomen Solutions,” says Smitha.
The organisation has established nine skilling and development centres across seven districts in Kerala, in collaboration with various NGOs and vocational training centres.
Don has been undergoing vocational training at St Alphonsa Vocational Training Centre at Angamaly in Ernakulam district. He joined the Inclusys programme a year and a half ago. According to Sr Roncy Tom, a Catholic nun and special educator at the Angamaly centre, only those neurodivergent individuals who have the ability to successfully complete training are initiated into the Inclusys programme. When THE WEEK visited the centre, two neurodivergent individuals were undergoing a typing exercise to determine their suitability for the Inclusys programme.
Inclusys offers a six-month curriculum in four phases―generic IT skilling, advanced IT skilling, capstone projects and internships. The training process, says Roncy, involves many recap sessions of lessons. THE WEEK witnessed a session in which Roncy, assisted by Levin Eldose, a neurodivergent individual who was part of the first Inclusys batch at Angamaly, taught candidates to annotate individual elements in a video frame. Levin was initially shy to address the class in the presence of THE WEEK, but with a bit of encouragement he did a brief session.
Another neurodivergent individual, Anal Varghese, did a system demo. Throughout the session, the steps for annotating elements in individual frames in the video were reiterated multiple times. “Recap and repetition are crucial when formulating a pedagogy for training neurodivergent individuals,” says Sr Roncy. “Importantly, we focus not only on technical skills, but also on enhancing the communication skills of these boys and girls.”
Mercy Eldose, Levin’s mother, says the Inclusys training had remarkably improved her son’s communication skills. “He started mingling more and became a lot more active,” she says. “A lot of people ask me, ‘How did this change happen in such a short span?’”
Reshmi Ravindranathan | Ujwal P.P.
Levin has been epileptic since he was three. Despite attending a regular school, he had trouble comprehending most subjects because of a learning disability. But, with the help of a scribe, he successfully passed Class 10 and 12 exams. “However, it was at Inclusys that Levin discovered subjects that fascinated him, and he was granted the freedom to learn at his own pace,” she says. Levin faced challenges understanding theory, but excelled on the practical side. “Once he understands a pattern, he can quickly follow it,” she explains.
Mercy, too, attended training sessions with her son. “All the parents were encouraged to attend sessions, because parents could easily assist them and address their doubts even at home,” she says. Both Levin and Anal are now freelance IT professionals at Inclusys Neuro Org, an IT-gig economy startup established as a sister concern of Inclusys Foundation. Supported by the Kerala Startup Mission and Startup India Mission, this one-of-its-kind organisation assigns neurodivergent freelancers to AI and data-related projects. “Inclusys Neuro Org is also involved in developing assistive technology for education, skilling and rehabilitation of people with disabilities,” says Robin.
Smitha explained the reason for establishing a separate startup. “It may not be easy for every neurodivergent individual to secure a position in an IT company and navigate a corporate environment. They encounter multiple challenges, including locomotive issues, physical disabilities and other mental pressures. The corporate world may not always be accommodating as well. To address both these issues, we thought, why not start a startup exclusively for neurodivergent individuals?”
Smitha George | Ujwal P.P.
Inclusys Neuro Org has more than 40 neurodivergent individuals working on a variety of IT projects for various governmental and nongovernmental organisations. Upon completing training, most neurodivergent associates of Inclusys Foundation undertake internships at Inclusys Neuro Org, although there have been instances where they interned outside.
“At the very core of Inclusys Org Foundation is a unique, homegrown framework called SHIFT, which stands for sensing, harmonising, and transforming,” explains Rashmi. “Through sensing, we understand the problem statements; harmonising involves bringing them together with technology, and we use this process to transform the lives of our customers as well as that of the neurodivergent associates.”
Companies such as UST Global, FedServ and Abhasoft, along with government agencies like Kerala Knowledge Mission, have conducted campus visits to Inclusys Foundation. At Infopark in Kochi, THE WEEK met Majo Philip and Aby Antoo, two Inclusys-trained neurodivergent individuals recruited by FedServ. Majo is on the Down syndrome spectrum, while Aby has an intellectual disability and an auditory processing disorder. Both are now junior process executives at FedServ, mostly handling data entry projects.
Sumesh Nair | Ujwal P.P.
“Four of us from Inclusys were initially on the [FedServ] list; two of us got selected,” says Majo, 25. The company gave them two weeks of generic training, followed by on-the-job training. According to Majo, he now receives more assistance in the workplace than he ever did while studying in regular school. “There are a lot of people to explain things and help us with tasks,” he says. “I can do a lot of things on my own now…. I made many friends at this company.”
Anoop Sasi, Majo and Aby’s team lead, says both of them were “a little shy” initially. “But they started to hang out with us, and they are now an integral part of our team,” he says. “Of course, it was a little tough for them to grasp and find things initially, and they had many apprehensions. But we all supported them, and now both of them consistently meet assigned targets. I can definitely say that they are not the same individuals who joined this company almost a year and a half ago.”
Sumesh Nair, associate vice president at Federal Bank (FedServ’s parent company), says both Majo and Aby are now assigned “equal tasks, equal opportunities, and equal activities”, just like any other employee in their team.
“They are on par with their teammates now, and are given all activities, including critical tasks,” he says. “And, of course, they are performing very well.”
The training duration for neurodivergent individuals varies across IT companies. For instance, Amal Joshy and Anna Shaji, trained by Inclusys and placed in one of India’s leading IT services firms, have been undergoing training for over a month now. Amal says the current training regimen is more challenging than the one in Inclusys. Both of them, however, are confident of securing a position in the company.
An aspect that most neurodivergent individuals find challenging is the dynamic nature of workplace relations or assignments. For instance, says Laila, Don struggled to cope with the departure of Delvy, his former guide who left Inclusys to join another company some months ago. “He still says that he misses her,” she says.
As a mother, though, Laila is happier than ever―as a successful young professional, Don is no longer as dependent on her as he had once been.