A Seat at the Table by Urmila Hemmadi uses baking, visual learning and life-skills training for young adults with autism

Busy day at A Seat at the Table: (from left) Sri Chandan with a tray of baked vada bombs; Aanchal mixing the potato curry; Neeraj and Aanchal with baked cookies

It is a regular weekday at A Seat at the Table, a cloud kitchen housed within FlipSide Workspace, an inclusive vocational centre in Hyderabad for young adults with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities, including Down Syndrome. As Pal Pal Pal Har Pal plays on a mobile phone in the background, five students — Amit, Neeraj, Sri Chandan, Karishma and Aanchal —follow picture-based recipe cards and move through each step of baking.Under the watchful eyes of a baking teacher and an assistant coordinator, they prepare vada bombs, bakery-style buns filled with spiced potato. When FlipSide Workspace founder Urmila Hemmadi asks, "We're trying something new today. What is it?", the group replies in unison: "Avakaya cheese bun."First anniversary

Karishma rolls a choco-based cookie

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Special Arrangement