when akshat rassay was born his parents had little idea of what his growingup years were to be like he was diagnosed with autism at the age of threeandahalf years but it took them a few more years to realize that he was a nonspeaking autistic child with an enviable level of brillianceakshat 19 is one of the 16 nonspeaking autistic children from the country who have jointly authored a book titled talking fingers which breaks the myth that a nonspeaking autistic person is a nonthinking personwith the help of augmentative and alternative communication aac he began communicating through facial expressions gestures and typing and became more participatory in family setups his mother ritu said the book gave my son a chance to go beyond the label of autism and introduce himself as someone who can think express and argue on a range of topics