His mother, spends all her time looking after her child, from picking his friends who are sensitive enough to homeschooling. For her, the greatest victory is not his medals but how her child, who everyone thought would never speak, is now able to have a conversation while being a national champion.

Sharmila, mother of national para swimming champ Ishaan (13), tells DT Next the challenges of raising a child with autism, ADHD, Intellectual Disability and others, and how swimming enables him to learn basic skills. From homeschooling to how swimming helped him with his skills, its a lap at life for Ishaan.

The 13-year-old para swimmer from Koyambedu is a gold medallist at the 26th Junior and Sub-Junior National Para Swimming Championship 2026 in Bengaluru, which was held in June this year. He won medals in Butterfly Fly 100 m, Backstroke 100 m, and Individual Medley 100m in the S14 category.

Ishaan was diagnosed with Autism, ADHD, Intellectual Disability, and other developmental challenges when he was about a year-and-a-half old. Ishaan’s laps with swimming began as his mother was looking to find activities that could help him learn other skills.

Reported by: SA SNEHA; Video by: HEMANATHAN M

Read the story here: Strokes easier than syllables for National Para Swimming champ