Senu

Inspired by true incidents; Swetha, the mother of the 3-year-old boy Senura, Senu for short and her only child, observes that he does not look at her nor respond to her, when she speaks to him, although she is unable to explain the reason for it. As she goes to work one day with her husband Aruna, she becomes aware of an unusual sense of foreboding before handing Senu over to the maid Leela and instructs her to contact her if she needs any help with him.

Swetha’s worst fears take the form of a phone call from Leela by mid-day, and she rushes home to a horrifying tantrum of Senu, lying on the floor, and finds him in hunger and a sudden attack of illness. Aruna and Swetha consult their family doctor, who advises them to get Senu enrolled in a play-school where he would not feel lonely during the day when the couple goes off to work.

However, Senu does not find himself a friend nor shows interest in pre-school work and becomes the misfit in pre-school while he dwells in his world. Further, Senu is fond of a rubber toy, a rubber-duck, that he usually carries along with him in his hand, and shows a great attachment to the object, even though his parents, the maid, or hardly anyone notices his fixation on the toy.

In the meantime, the headteacher of the play-school observes Senu’s behavior to be unusual when he colors the rubber-duck with a black crayon. She understands that Senu is trying to convey a message in the absence of verbal ability and duly informs his parents to see a child psychiatrist for better comprehension of his behavioral deviation. Swetha’s vehement denial that her son could be diagnosed with a mental illness evokes an aggressive allegation at the head teacher. This defense mechanism of her psychological realm is to ward off trouble that could get in the way of her son’s development, education, and family life.

Nevertheless, Senu’s parents see a consultant child-psychiatrist and eventually find an explanation of their son’s behavioral deviation when a medical assessment diagnoses him as Autistic.
Senu's inability to find his place among the other children makes him depict himself as a “black rubber-duck”. It is an expression of his psychological self-image of being the misfit among the other children which is projected on his favorite toy, that expresses his non-acceptance among others. "The duckling" which was different in appearance from the other hatchlings in a nest, was a famous children's tale, which was told in the old years.

Aruna, with the knowledge of his son being Autistic and his wife Swetha's depressive behavior, finds it stressful to put up with family life and mounting financial difficulties due to the cost of therapeutic treatment. In an effort to guard his psychological wellbeing and manage expenses, he decides to leave the country leaving Swetha and Senu behind. The ego defense mechanism of "avoidance" is a psychological buffer that most fathers of Autistic children resolve to, in managing stress.

Amidst all the devastation, Swetha arms her life and mental state with resilience and courage, as she faces her psychological battle in nurturing Senu’s abilities, despite his disability and discomforts that comorbid Autistic symptoms. Most importantly, her unconditional love for Senu results in the shedding of his self-image of a “black duckling”.

Further, Swetha’s sacrifice towards her son’s wellbeing; a deviation from the societal norms of Sri Lanka, get weighed on a scale of judgment, when her husband's brother Gayan, enters her house to take care of Senu in her husband's absence and to assist Swetha in good faith during a chaotic period in her life.

Finally, early intervention, therapy, and acceptance by a school improve Senu’s verbal ability gradually, and he pronounces the word “mom”, on the school stage, through the microphone at a singing competition. Swetha has never heard her son addressing her as "mom" before, and thus becomes her gift from the “little-black-duckling” as he gradually unleashes his potential, just as the little duckling who eventually became a beautiful swan in the childhood tale.

The psychological theories of Erik Erikson, on the psycho-social development of childhood, especially on the identity-development and the development of life-skills are the base for the drama. The educational theories of "The Zone of Proximal Development", by the psychologists Jerome Bruner and Lev Vygotsky make a marked contribution to the plot of the drama, as well.