The Founder and President of SSDRC gave up personal comfort, career opportunities, and even money saved for her marriage to build a life of dignity, education, and hope for children with autism

Kathmandu / Some people are remembered not for what they accumulated for themselves, but for what they sacrificed for others. In Nepal’s social service and special education sector, Sabita Upreti, Founder and President of the Special School for Disabled and Rehabilitation Center (SSDRC), stands as one of those exceptional individuals.

For more than a decade and a half, Upreti has devoted her life to children with autism and other developmental disabilities—children who were once frequently misunderstood, hidden from society, denied educational opportunities, or treated as if they had no meaningful future.

Her contribution cannot adequately be measured by awards, titles, or statistics. The deeper measure of her work lies in the lives that have changed because she chose to dedicate her own life to them.

One Child Changed the Direction of Her Life

Upreti’s journey into autism advocacy was not part of a carefully planned career.

Before establishing SSDRC, she was involved in rehabilitation-related work and traveled to communities where she encountered people living with disabilities.

During one such experience, she came across a young boy with developmental difficulties who had reportedly been kept isolated because his family did not understand his condition. Accounts of her early journey describe children with autism being locked inside rooms or even tied up because families and communities had little understanding of autism or how to respond to their behavior.

For Upreti, witnessing such a situation was not something she could simply forget.

She could have expressed sympathy and continued with her own life.

Instead, she changed her life.

That encounter became one of the turning points that led her toward what would eventually become a lifelong mission: creating opportunities for children with autism to learn, communicate, develop independence, and live with dignity.

She Left Her Job and Invested Her Own Future

What followed demonstrated the depth of her commitment.

Upreti left her job to work for children with special needs.

Even more remarkably, according to published profiles of her life, money that her family had saved for her marriage was used to help establish a school and services for children with autism and other disabilities.

In 2010, with limited resources but enormous determination, she founded the Special School for Disabled and Rehabilitation Center—SSDRC.

This was not simply the establishment of another organization.

It was a personal decision to place the futures of vulnerable children ahead of her own comfort and conventional expectations of personal life.

She chose service over security.

She chose responsibility over convenience.

And she chose children whom much of society had failed to understand.

That decision would eventually affect the lives of hundreds of children and their families.

From a Small Beginning to a Movement

The early years were difficult.

At the time, public awareness of autism in Nepal was extremely limited. Many people confused autism with mental illness. Families sometimes hid children from visitors, and mainstream schools were often reluctant to enroll children with developmental disabilities.

Upreti encountered those attitudes directly.

But rather than becoming discouraged, she began working simultaneously with children, parents, teachers, schools, communities, and government agencies.

SSDRC gradually expanded its programs and services.

What began with only a small number of children eventually developed into a broader initiative providing special education, rehabilitation, behavioral support, therapy, parental counseling, awareness programs, teacher training, vocational preparation, and life-skills education.

Published reports have stated that over the years SSDRC has provided services to hundreds of children, while its centers and programs continue to support children and young people requiring specialized educational and developmental assistance.

By 2026, reports indicated that SSDRC itself was serving more than 60 children with the support of a multidisciplinary team that included teachers, therapists, psychologists, and other professionals.

The organization has also become involved in training teachers beyond its own classrooms, helping spread practical knowledge about autism and special education to other educational institutions.

More Than a Founder -A Motherly Figure to Hundreds

Calling Sabita Upreti merely an administrator or organizational founder does not fully describe her relationship with the children she serves.

She has often spoken about children at SSDRC with the affection and responsibility of a mother.

Over the years, many families have come to regard her not simply as the president of an institution, but as someone who stood beside them when they felt isolated, confused, or hopeless about their children’s future.

Her philosophy is simple but powerful:

A child with autism is not incapable. A child with autism learns differently and needs appropriate understanding, patience, education, and support.

One of the most important lessons Upreti has consistently emphasized is that no two autistic children are exactly alike.

Autism is a spectrum.

Every child has different strengths, challenges, communication patterns, sensory needs, interests, and learning abilities. Therefore, education cannot rely on one rigid method. Children need individualized attention and appropriate teaching strategies based on their unique needs.

That approach is increasingly recognized internationally as fundamental to quality autism education.

Teaching Life, Not Just Lessons

At SSDRC, education is not limited to textbooks.

For many children, progress may begin with learning how to wash their hands, dress themselves, use the toilet independently, eat without assistance, communicate a basic need, recognize danger, interact with others, or control challenging behavior.

What may appear like a small achievement to outsiders can represent years of effort for a child, a teacher, a therapist, and a family.

For some parents, hearing their child communicate meaningfully for the first time is an extraordinary moment.

For others, seeing a child independently perform a daily activity can completely change their expectations for the future.

This is where Upreti’s work carries its deepest meaning.

Her mission is not simply to keep children occupied in a school environment. It is to help them develop maximum possible independence, confidence, communication skills, social participation, and dignity.

Helping Change Nepal’s Understanding of Autism

When Upreti began working in this field, the word “autism” itself was unfamiliar to many Nepalis.

Awareness has improved considerably since then, although major gaps remain.

The progress achieved in Nepal is the result of sustained work by parents, autism organizations, specialists, educators, health professionals, activists, and institutions. Within that broader national effort, Upreti has been one of the persistent voices advocating education, recognition, rehabilitation services, and greater government responsibility.

She has repeatedly emphasized that autism cannot remain only the responsibility of individual families or charitable organizations.

The state must take responsibility.

Early identification, professional assessment, therapy, trained teachers, inclusive education, specialized schools where necessary, family counseling, vocational education, employment opportunities, and long-term support all require coordinated public policy.

This becomes especially important as children grow into adults.

Autism does not disappear when someone reaches the age of 18.

Families therefore need systems that extend from childhood education to adulthood, employment, supported living, community participation, and long-term care where necessary.

Her Service Has Received National and International Recognition

Upreti’s work has also received recognition inside and outside Nepal.

She has been honored with awards related to social service, education, humanitarian work, and advocacy.

Among the honors reported publicly are Nepal’s Janasewa Shree decoration and the National Youth Talent Award for her contribution to social service and education.

She was also selected for the International Women of Courage Award 2023 by the Human Rights Council of India in recognition of her humanitarian and social contributions.

In 2024, Onlinekhabar included her among 50 influential women of Nepal, highlighting her sustained work with autistic children.

Such recognition is meaningful.

But medals and certificates are not what define her greatest accomplishment.

Her real awards can be seen in children who once struggled to communicate but learned to express themselves.

They can be seen in children who once depended entirely on others but gradually developed independence.

They can be seen in parents who once feared that their child had no future but later discovered ability, personality, talent, and possibility.

Her Greatest Contribution Is Hope

There is a fundamental difference between charity and empowerment.

Charity may help someone temporarily.

Empowerment helps a person build a life.

Sabita Upreti’s work increasingly represents the latter.

Children with autism do not need pity. They need rights, opportunities, education, professional support, acceptance, protection, and respect.

They need a society that asks not, “What is wrong with this child?” but rather, “What support does this child need to reach their potential?”

That shift in thinking is central to the movement Upreti has helped advance.

International Cooperation and Modern Special Education

SSDRC has also sought to connect Nepal’s special education sector with international knowledge and professional practices.

Its participation in programs such as the Leading University Project for International Cooperation (LUPIC) has provided opportunities to exchange experiences with South Korean professors, experts, and special schools.

Such cooperation exposes Nepali educators to approaches involving individualized education, evidence-based instructional strategies, school management, teacher development, behavioral support, and long-term planning for children with special educational needs.

For Upreti and SSDRC, these partnerships are important not as ceremonial international relationships but as opportunities to bring better educational practices back to Nepali classrooms.

Nepal Must Build on the Work of People Like Her

The story of Sabita Upreti also raises a larger national question.

Should services for children with autism depend primarily on the sacrifice of individuals?

The answer should be no.

People like Upreti demonstrate what is possible, but the responsibility ultimately belongs to society and the state.

Nepal needs a comprehensive national system for autism and developmental disabilities—one that includes early screening, diagnosis, special and inclusive education, trained human resources, therapy, insurance or financial assistance, parent support, vocational training, employment, and services for autistic adults.

Every province should have appropriate facilities, and every local government should be able to guide parents toward professional help.

Teachers in mainstream schools should also receive basic training in recognizing and supporting neurodivergent students.

Organizations such as SSDRC have accumulated years of practical experience. Policymakers should use that knowledge when designing national programs rather than attempting to build systems without listening to professionals and families already working in the field.

Sabita Upreti: A Woman Whose Greatness Is Difficult to Put Into Words

It is easy to describe someone as a social worker.

It is much harder to understand what that title means when social service becomes an entire life.

Sabita Upreti walked away from a conventional path.

She left her job.

She invested resources intended for her own future.

She devoted her time, energy, youth, knowledge, and personal comfort to children whom society frequently failed to understand.

And she continued.

Year after year.

Child after child.

Family after family.

That is why her greatness cannot be adequately captured in a few sentences.

Sabita Upreti is among those remarkable Nepali women who chose the happiness and future of vulnerable children over personal comfort and convenience.

Her greatness lies not simply in founding SSDRC.

It lies in refusing to look away when she saw suffering.

It lies in recognizing humanity where others sometimes saw only disability.

It lies in believing that children considered “difficult” or “incapable” could learn if someone had enough patience to teach them.

It lies in giving parents hope.

And above all, it lies in transforming compassion into sustained action.

Many people achieve fame.

Some accumulate wealth.

Others obtain high positions.

But only a rare few dedicate the most valuable thing they possess—their own life—to improving the lives of others.

Sabita Upreti belongs to that rare group.

Her story is therefore not only the story of the Founder and President of SSDRC.

It is a story of sacrifice, courage, motherhood beyond biological boundaries, service, dignity, and unconditional humanity.

And perhaps her greatest monument is not made of stone.

It lives in the smiles, progress, independence, and possibilities of the children whose lives became brighter because she decided that they deserved a chance.