Seventeen-year-old becomes first female swimmer with autism to cross the Catalina Channel in Los Angeles last week, dedicating her feat to raising awareness

Seventeen-year-old Jiya Madan Rai has made history as the first girl with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to swim across the Catalina Channel on September 26 in Los Angeles , but her journey to this stage was anything but easy. Remarkably, Jiya achieved this feat without any professional coaching — her first coach has been her father, Madan Rai, who introduced her to swimming at the Navy Nagar pool.

Madan, MC-At-Arms II (Junior Commissioned Officer) of the Indian Navy, said, “Jiya was diagnosed with ASD at the age of two, a condition that has no treatment in the world. From a very young age, she was extremely active and loved water

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