Madhu Barghavi Vijayakumar was diagnosed with autism when she was five years old.

She had no interest in reading, writing or even holding a pencil.

Two years later, she launched her first children’s book.

‘The Golden Parrot and the Magic Teapot’ is a 24-page book filled with short stories and illustrations by the young girl.

Barghavi’s tutor, Mahaletchumi Tavamany, reportedly personally trained her with clay, marbles and play dough because she had poor motor skills just three years ago.

The teacher has dedicated one hour with Barghavi every day for the past three years.

“It’s amazing she has come this far, a girl who earlier didn’t want to read and write or hold a pencil,” Mahaletchumi told The Star in an interview.

The child’s mother Jegadeswari Krishnan had encouraged her to write the story when Barghavi first received an empty booklet from school.

She wasn’t willing to write the story in the beginning so the booklet only had drawings. But after repeating the story about the golden parrot several times, her mother encouraged her to complete the story.

Few weeks later, Barghavi came up with an idea for another story.

This little girl’s story has turned into an inspiration for families with autistic children.

“Don’t mould your child. What I did was accept her as she was and try to encourage and empower her in the face of adversity,” Jegadeswari was quoted by the news portal as saying.

‘The Golden Parrot and the Magic Teapot’ is priced at RM28.90 and all proceeds will go to a local NGO, Love Autism Society of Malaysia (Persama).