About Us

Our Story

Our journey into special education didn't begin with a plan — it began with our son, Amith, born on 25th May 2003. In 2006, when he was diagnosed with autism, "autism" was a word we had never even heard before. We had no idea what it meant, no idea what came next, and no roadmap to follow. All we knew was that we needed to find every possible option to help him grow.

That search became my wife Sumalatha's life's work. She began working at the Autism Child Development Centre in Hyderabad that Amith attended, went on to complete her B.Ed in Special Education, and in 2015, we founded AutismTeach together — starting with just two children: Amith and Sunny. Today, close to 20 years into her career as an RCI-registered special educator, she leads a centre, guided by a team of professionals — and she now brings that experience to AbilityElevate as our Principal.

My own path took longer to fully arrive here. For nearly three decades, I built a career in the IT industry, supporting AutismTeach from the side as a co-founder. In May 2025, I left that career behind to take on full-time caregiving responsibilities for Amith and to contribute to AutismTeach directly — bringing the strategy and operations experience from my IT career into this work full-time.

Amith Foundation is named for our son, because he is where this all started — and because we remember exactly what it felt like to have no idea where to turn. AbilityElevate exists so other families don't have to search the way we once did.

Our hope is simple: that AbilityElevate becomes a place where a child's diagnosis is the starting point for how we teach them, never the ceiling on what they can achieve.

— Kokkula Rajesham & Kokkula Sumalatha, Founders, Amith Foundation

Amith with his parents, Kokkula Sumalatha and Kokkula Rajesham

Amith Foundation Aims and Objectives

(Drawn directly from the Trust Deed's Clause 4)

To establish, run, and manage a Special School, Special Educational Centres, and Early Intervention Centres for children with autism, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, and other developmental disabilities.
To design and implement Individualised Education Plans (IEPs) suited to each child's developmental, sensory, communicative, and behavioural needs.
To provide functional academics, pre-vocational training, and life-skills education enabling a smooth transition from school to adult life.
To establish rehabilitation, therapy, and day-care services offering speech, occupational, behavioural, and psychological support.
To provide early identification, screening, and early-intervention services for developmental delays in infants and young children.
To establish vocational training centres and sheltered workshops, and to facilitate job placement and inclusion in employment for persons with disabilities.
To create awareness of, and enforce, the legal and constitutional rights of persons with disabilities under the RPwD Act 2016 and other applicable laws.
To provide legal aid, legal-literacy programmes, and assistance in obtaining disability certificates, UDID cards, and statutory entitlements.
To establish counselling centres offering psychological, developmental, and family counselling to persons with disabilities and their caregivers.
To conduct parent-training programmes, support groups, and peer networks for families of children with disabilities.
To facilitate access to government social-security schemes, welfare benefits, and financial-planning mechanisms for persons with disabilities.
To organise awareness campaigns, training programmes, and capacity-building for parents, professionals, and the general public on autism and disability inclusion.
To develop and promote assistive technologies, digital learning platforms, and tele-therapy services to enhance accessibility and independent living.

Registered & Recognized

Trust Registration: Document No. 246/2026
Income Tax Registration (Section 332)
Donor Tax-Deduction Approval (Section 354)

Meet the Team

Kokkula Sumalatha

Trustee, Amith Foundation;
Principal, AbilityElevate Special School

Suma is an RCI-registered special educator with close to 20 years of experience in special education. She holds a B.Ed in Special Education and began her career working directly with children with autism in Hyderabad. She now leads the academic and therapeutic programme at AbilityElevate Special School as Principal.

Kokkula Rajesham

Founder & Chairman, Amith Foundation;
Correspondent, AbilityElevate Special School

Rajesham brings nearly three decades of strategy and operations experience from a career in the IT industry. He transitioned to full-time work in special education and disability services in May 2025. He leads AbilityElevate Special School as a Correspondent.

Our Team

The AbilityElevate team together on stage at a school celebration