Last Updated: 06th January, 2026
ARULA for Autism, ("ARULA", "We", "Us", "Our") is dedicated to promoting solutions, across the spectrum and throughout the life span, for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. We do this through advocacy and support; increasing understanding and acceptance of autism spectrum disorder; and advancing research into causes and better interventions for autism spectrum disorder and related conditions.
This Privacy Policy applies to: any information that identifies or relates to an identifiable individual, including but not limited to: name, contact information, age, gender, email address, phone number, postal address, parent/guardian details (where applicable), payment details, communication records, appointment history, behavioural and developmental information, therapy-related data, clinical notes, medical or psychological information shared for therapy purposes, device identifiers, IP address, and any other information voluntarily provided to ARULA in connection with the Services and/or Our Website.
The Privacy Policy describes Our collection and use for its legitimate interest of users' Personal Information (e.g., information that identifies a specific person, such as full name, postal address, telephone number, email address, or credit or debit card number) where that information is not otherwise publicly available. It also describes generally Our practices for handling Other Information (e.g., interests, demographics and site usage) collected from You, through Us or from a third party to the extent such information is associated with a particular device, User or User account.
Please review this privacy policy carefully. Any changes we may make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to our privacy policy.
It is recommended that You do not use the Website or the Services of the Website if any of the terms of this Privacy Policy are not in accordance with the applicable laws of Your country.
Please do not use the Website or the Services if You do not consent to Our Privacy Policy or to the terms contained herein.
By using the Website, or providing Us with Your Personal Information or by making use of the features provided by the Website or by making a payment to ARULA, You hereby provide Your consent to the collection, storage, processing, disclosure and transfer of Your Personal Information in accordance with the provisions of this Privacy Policy.
By way of providing Your Personal Information and agreeing to the said Privacy Policy, You hereby grant consent to Us to connect with You over call, message, email and help You understand the Services being offered and/or provide technical support towards availing of Services at the platform.
You admit that You are providing Your Personal Information at Your own will. You also have the option not to provide Us with the Personal Information sought to be collected. You will also have an option to withdraw Your consent at any point, provided such withdrawal of consent is intimated to Us in writing to support@arulaforautism.com.
If You do not provide Us with Your Personal Information or if You withdraw the consent at any point in time, We shall have the option to not fulfil the purposes for which the said Personal Information was sought and We may restrict Your use of the Website.
For individuals located in the EU/EEA/UK, We process Personal Information under the following lawful bases under Article 6 of the GDPR:
a) Performance of a contract: to provide therapy sessions and related services.
b) Consent: for collection of sensitive health information ("special category data") and for communications.
c) Legal obligation: where retention or disclosure is required by Indian or applicable foreign law.
d) Legitimate interests: operating this platform, preventing fraud, improving Services, ensuring security.
e) Vital interests: where processing is necessary to protect Your life or the life/safety of another person.
For processing health data, we rely on Article 9(2)(a) (explicit consent) and Article 9(2)(h) (healthcare/medical purposes).
5.1. Personal Information
When using Our Services, We might collect some information that would include things like Your name, phone number, gender, occupation, hometown, personal interests, credit card or other billing information, Your email address, postal addresses, website URLs, certain health information (such as health care providers You have seen, Your reason for scheduling an appointment with a therapist, Your physical, physiological, psychological and/or mental health condition, Your medical history and/or other such additional information required by the therapist which may include, but is not limited to, information of a clinical nature, previous health records, family background, etc., to enable the therapist to better understand Your condition and tailor Your appointments/sessions accordingly), and any other information or data that You provide when using the Services. If You communicate with Us by, for example, email, facsimile, video conference, phone and/or letter, any information provided in such communication may be collected as Personal Information ("Personal Information").
The main reason We collect this Personal Information is to provide You with a safe, smooth, efficient and customised experience. The collection of Personal Information also enables the user to create an account and profile that can be used to interact with Our experts. You always have the option not to provide some, or any, by either choosing not to become a registered User of the site, or else by skipping the particular feature of the website for which the Personal Information is being collected. You may change some of the information that You provide through Your account page on the Website. In event where You do not provide Consent to Us for using your Personal Information that is essential for ARULA's operations, ARULA reserves full rights to modify/alter/refuse Our Services to You. ARULA may not be held accountable for any modifications/alterations/cancellations of Service due to non-consent or refusal (or withdrawal of) to providing the essential Personal Information or the processing thereof.
Your Personal Information is held safe by the consultant working with You and is normally not shared with other consultants. However, there may be certain occasions when the consultants collaborate to arrive at a better diagnosis and tailor the counselling sessions. In such cases, only minimal information as required is shared with others. Your Personal Information may be shared with other parties within the organisation who are not the consultants or in-charge of directly providing the therapeutic feedback or counselling sessions, for the purposes beyond ARULA's core e-learning offerings, such as billing, invoicing, verification, etc. these parties may reach out to You concerning your subscription/association with ARULA.
The Personal Information that You provide must be true, accurate and complete and all registration details (where applicable) must contain Your real name, address and other requested details.
We are dedicated to maintaining the privacy and integrity of your Personal Information. If You decide at any time that You no longer wish to receive certain communications from Us, You can opt-out by sending an email to Us and Your request may be processed within 10 (ten) Business Days.
The selected therapist may choose to keep information about their client's session time/date to stay organised. The information held by the therapist, as well as any session slot bookings such as dates and times that admin may have access to on the booking calendar, is retained and/or deleted as provided under Clause 15 hereunder.
5.2. Personal Information We Receive from Third Parties
We may receive Personal Information about You from third parties, including, for example, information about your transactions, purchase history, or relationships with various product and service providers, and Your use of certain applications. This information could include, but is not limited to, the server ID associated with Your account, any information You have permitted the third party to share with Us, and any information You have made public in connection with that Service.
5.3. Other Information
"Other Information" is any information that does not reveal Your specific identity, such as browser information, information collected through cookies and other technologies, demographic information, and aggregated information. We may combine Other Information with your Personal Information, and when We do, We treat the combined information as Personal Information.
5.4. Other Information You Submit
We collect Other Information when You submit it to Us. It may include Your age, gender, education, occupation, financial information, interests, photos, connections, and comments.
5.5. Other Information We Receive from Third Parties
We may receive Other Information about You from third parties, including but not limited to, demographic data, information about Your interests, and information about Your activities on other websites.
5.6.Aggregated Information Collection Methods
Aggregated information, such as information on traffic patterns within the Website, is collected by ARULA through various methods:
a) IP Addresses: We collect IP addresses through the Website. An IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to Your computer whenever You are surfing the Website. Web servers, the computers that "serve up" web pages, automatically identify Your computer by the IP address, and when You request a page from the Website, Our servers log Your IP address. The Website does not link IP addresses to anything personally identifiable.
b) Use of Cookies: ARULA may use cookies and other tracking technologies (including browser cookies, pixels and beacons), which are comprised of small bits of data that often include an anonymous unique identifier. A cookie is a small data file that most major web sites write to Your device for record keeping purposes when You visit them. Cookies allow Us to measure activity on the Website and to improve Your User experience, for example by remembering Your passwords and viewing preferences. Cookies are used by Us to measure activity on the Website and make improvements and updates based on which areas are popular and which are not. We will make available cookies, containing non personally identifiable information such as IP address and pages viewed, regarding Your activity on the Website to certain third party providers with whom We work, in order to show advertisements relating to this Website that may be of interest to You. Most browsers are initially set to accept cookies. If You may prefer, You may set Your browser settings to refuse cookies or to alert You when cookies are being sent. However, it is possible that some parts of the Website will not function properly if You do so.
c) Log Data: When You use the Website, ur servers or servers of third-party services automatically record information that Your browser sends ("Log Data"). This Log Data may include information such as Your computer, Internet Protocol ("IP") address, browser type, or the webpage You were visiting before You came to Our services, pages of Our website and services that You visit, the time spent on those pages, information You search for on Our services, access times and dates, and other statistics. We may use this information to monitor, analyse trends, administer the Website, track Your movement, gather broad demographic information for aggregate use, increase user-friendliness and tailor Our Services to better suit Your needs.
d) Device Information and Identifiers: We may also collect information about the device You use to access the Website, such as device type, operating system, browser type, language, mobile network information, device identifiers (such as advertising identifiers), and other technical data. This information is used for analytics, diagnostics, fraud prevention, improving Our Services, and enhancing user experience.
e) Third-Party Analytics and Tracking Technologies: We may use third-party analytics tools and tracking technologies (including but not limited to Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, and similar tools) to help Us understand usage patterns, measure traffic, and improve Our Services. These third-party providers may use cookies, device identifiers, and other tracking technologies to collect information about Your usage of the Website. Such data is collected in accordance with the respective third party's privacy policies.
f) Aggregated and Anonymized Information: We may aggregate and anonymize certain information collected from You so that it cannot reasonably be used to identify any individual user. We may use such aggregated information for statistical analysis, improving Our Services, and internal business purposes.
We are not responsible for any form of transmission, whatsoever, received by the User from any linked site. We are providing these links only for convenience, and the inclusion of any such link does not imply endorsement by the Website, of the linked sites or any association with its operators or owners including the legal heirs or assigns thereof.
On accessing the linked sites, You shall be governed by the terms of use, privacy policy and such other additional policies of the linked sites. You further acknowledge and agree that We shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any such content, advertising, products, services or other materials available on or through any linked sites or for any errors, defamatory content, libel, slander, omissions, falsehoods, obscene content, pornographic material, or any profanity contained therein.
If your personal information changes, or if you need to update or correct your personal information or have any grievance with respect to the processing or use of your personal information, for any reason, you may send updates and corrections to us at support@arulaforautism.com and we will take all reasonable efforts to incorporate the changes within a reasonable period of time. If your personal information is stored as part of your profile on the website, you can write to us at the abovementioned email address.
Some personal information, such as your answers to online assessments cannot be updated or deleted once submitted. If you would like us to remove your records from our system, please contact us at support@arulaforautism.com and info@arulaforautism.com and we will attempt to accommodate your request if we do not have any legal obligation to retain such information.
Please note that we are required to retain certain information by law for record maintaining purposes (including but not limited to payment history, feedback, etc.), and there may also be residual information that will remain within our databases and other records, which, irrespective of any efforts by us to delete information, will not be removed from them.
6.1. Additional Rights for EU/EEA/UK Individuals
If You are located in the EU/EEA/UK, You have the following rights under GDPR:
a) Right of access – to know what personal data we hold.
b) Right to rectification – to correct inaccurate information.
c) Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten") – subject to retention laws.
d) Right to restrict processing.
e) Right to data portability – receive data in a structured, machine-readable format.
f) Right to object – to certain processing (including direct marketing).
g) Right not to be subject to automated decision-making.
h) Right to withdraw consent for any processing based on consent.
To exercise these rights, You may contact us at: support@arulaforautism.com You also have the right to lodge a complaint with Your local Data Protection Authority.
6.2. California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)
If You are a resident of California, USA, You may have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), including the right to know the categories of Personal Information collected, the right to request deletion, the right to request corrections, the right to opt out of certain data-sharing practices, and the right to non-discrimination for exercising Your rights. ARULA does not sell Personal Information. California residents may exercise their rights by contacting us at support@arulaforautism.com.
6.3. Australian Users
For Users located in Australia, the collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information is subject to the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). Australian Users have the right to request access to the Personal Information we hold about them, request corrections, and raise concerns regarding handling of sensitive health information. ARULA will take reasonable steps to comply with the APPs when processing Personal Information of Australian Users. Requests or complaints may be submitted to support@arulaforautism.com.
7.1. Parental or Legal Guardian Consent
a) ARULA collects, stores, processes, and uses Personal Information and health information of a minor only upon the verified consent of the parent or legal guardian.
b) By providing such consent, the parent/legal guardian confirms that they have lawful authority over the minor.
c) Parents/legal guardians may withdraw consent at any time by contacting ARULA; however, withdrawal may limit or prevent the provision of Services to the minor.
d) If ARULA becomes aware that a minor's information has been collected without proper parental/guardian consent, ARULA shall immediately delete or anonymise such data.
7.2. Categories of Information Processed for Minors
ARULA may process the following information relating to a minor:
a) basic identification details (name, age, gender);
b) developmental, behavioural, cognitive and sensory assessments;
c) therapy-related notes, session records and progress logs;
d) medical and clinical information shared by parents, guardians or treating professionals;
e) educational or special-needs information relevant to therapy;
f) any other information reasonably required for therapeutic, advisory or administrative purposes.
Such information constitutes Sensitive Personal Data or Information under Indian law and Special Category Data under GDPR.
7.3. Purpose of Processing Minor's Information
ARULA processes a minor's information strictly for the following purposes:
a) providing therapeutic, developmental and behavioural interventions;
b) designing personalised therapy plans and assessments;
c) communicating with parents/legal guardians regarding progress, appointments and services;
d) supporting clinical cooperation between therapists;
e) research and development in the field of autism and other behavioural /cognitive developmental disabilities;
f) complying with legal, clinical or regulatory obligations.
ARULA does not use a minor's information for marketing, advertising, automated decision making or profiling.
7.4. Parental Rights and Controls
Parents/legal guardians of minors whose data is processed by ARULA have the right to:
a) access all Personal Information and health information relating to the minor;
b) request correction of inaccurate information;
c) request deletion of the minor's information (subject to legal/clinical retention requirements);
d) request restriction of processing in certain circumstances;
e) withdraw consent for future processing;
f) obtain information regarding cross-border transfer safeguards applicable under GDPR (if relevant).
All such requests may be made by writing to support@arulaforautism.com.
Parents / legal guardians of minors are required to provide the following types of Consent to Us:
- Absolute – child's face, voice; parent's face, voice; developmental history, biological information such as gender, age; demographic information such as location of residence, language spoken, etc.; all would be utilised by ARULA and shared on the public platforms to which parents have consented wholly, without any reservations.
- Limited – Consent with some limitations, such as non-disclosure of face, etc., that mandate non-disclosure of certain information from the above list, to be displayed on public platforms belonging to or in partnership with ARULA for Autism
7.5. Confidentiality, Safety and Mandatory Disclosure
ARULA maintains the confidentiality of all information relating to minors, subject to the same exceptions specified under the "CONFIDENTIALITY" section of this Policy. In addition, ARULA may disclose information without parental consent where:
a) ARULA or any therapist reasonably believes that the minor is at risk of self-harm, harm to others, abuse or neglect;
b) such disclosure is required under applicable child protection or legal obligations;
c) limited information must be shared with emergency services or healthcare professionals to safeguard the minor's wellbeing.
Such disclosures shall be restricted to the minimum necessary for protection and safety.
7.6. Retention of Minor's Information
a) ARULA retains a minor's Personal Information and health data for the period required under applicable laws, clinical practice standards and legitimate business or regulatory purposes.
b) After the retention period, the information will be securely deleted or irreversibly anonymised.
c) For minors located in the EU/EEA/UK, retention shall be in accordance with GDPR principles of necessity and data minimisation.
7.7. International Transfer of Minor's Information (GDPR Compliance)
Where a minor is located in the EU/EEA/UK and information is transferred outside such jurisdictions, including to India:
a) such transfers will be made using appropriate safeguards under GDPR (including Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent mechanisms);
b) explicit parental/legal guardian consent may be obtained where required;
c) parents/guardians may request a description of safeguards used for such transfers.
7.8. No Commercial Use of Minors' Data
ARULA does not sell, rent, lease, trade, monetise or commercially exploit any minor's Personal Information or health information.
ARULA does not permit third parties to collect behavioural or tracking information about minors through the Services.
7.9. Emergency and Crisis Situations
ARULA's Services do not replace emergency medical care.
In case of crisis, behavioural emergency or threat to safety involving a minor, parents/legal guardians are urged to immediately contact local emergency authorities or in-person medical care providers.
Some of the Personal Information We collect from You is unrelated to Your receipt of counselling Services from therapists. Examples of how We may Use Your Personal Information include, but are not limited to, the following:
a) Identify and reach You;
b) Enable You to easily navigate the Services;
c) Resolve service and billing problems via telephone or mobile or email;
d) Assist You in scheduling appointments, remind You of upcoming or follow-up appointments, as well as cancelled appointments.
e) Troubleshoot technical problems;
f) Provide You with further information, products and services and newsletters;
g) Detect and protect Us against error, fraud, and other criminal activity;
h) Better understand Users' needs and interests;
i) Personalize Your experience;
j) Make disclosures as may be required under applicable law.
k) Improve Our Website;
l) Respond to Your customer service requests;
m) Administer a contest, promotion, survey or other site feature;
n) Process Your transactions; or
o) Run targeted marketing and promotional advertisements and/or campaigns
We will at all times maintain the privacy and integrity of Your protected health information ("PHI"). PHI is information about You that may be used to identify You (such as Your name or address), and that relates to:
a) Your past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition;
b) The provision of healthcare availed by You;
c) Your past, present, or future payment for the provision of healthcare.
In providing the Services, We will receive and create records containing Your PHI, and may use it to assist You in scheduling appointments, develop and conduct surveys with You to assist in providing You better services, conduct Our management and administrative activities, and otherwise as stated in this Privacy Policy.
We employ administrative, physical, and technical measures designed to safeguard and protect information under Our control from unauthorised access, use, and disclosure. When We collect, maintain, access, use, or disclose Your Personal Information, We will do so using systems and processes consistent with industry standards in information privacy and security.
In spite of the security measures undertaken by Us, We strongly discourage You from posting Your Personal information in forums, comments or any other publicly accessible places on Our website.
We implement encryption, access-control mechanisms, secure server environments, and data minimization practices.
Access to health information is strictly limited to authorised therapists and administrative personnel on a need-to-know basis.
ARULA maintains the confidentiality of all Personal Information collected by Us, including Personal Information disclosed during the personal consultation. Any Personal Information shared during the personal consultation is confidential, with certain exceptions where confidentiality may be breached. The case where confidentiality will be breached is if:
a) The expert / consultant / therapist / ARULA believes that there is a significant or real or imminent threat or risk to Your health, safety or life or to the health, safety or life of any other person or the public;
b) Disclosure is required by law to any authority;
c) You have claimed a health care insurance wherein the insurer requires Your information from Us.
Subject to the exceptions outlined above, the Personal Information shared with Us will only be shared with others after permission has been granted by You by way of email/letter/fax. All staff members and contracted third-parties, including all ARULA professionals, employees, contracted professionals or trainees, are required to follow this confidentiality policy.
In the event of a data breach involving Personal Information, ARULA will notify affected individuals and relevant authorities in accordance with applicable Indian laws and, where applicable, Articles 33 and 34 of the GDPR, which require notification to supervisory authorities and to Users where there is a high risk to rights and freedoms.
ARULA does not sell or trade Your Personal Information (including PHI) to third parties unless We provide You with advance notice. This, however, does not apply to any storage or transfer to and from website hosting partners and other parties who assist Us in operating Our Website, conducting Our business, or servicing You, as long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release Your information when We believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce Our site policies, or protect Ours or others' rights, property, or safety.
However, visitor information that is not personally identifiable may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses.
ARULA shall not be liable for any delay, interruption or failure in providing the Services arising from events beyond its reasonable control, including acts of God, natural disasters, epidemics or pandemics, war, governmental actions, labour disturbances, cyber incidents, internet or connectivity failures, power outages, or platform/system disruptions. During the continuance of such events, affected online therapy sessions may be rescheduled at ARULA's discretion, and no refund or compensation shall be payable for service interruptions resulting from such events.
ARULA reserves the right to change or remove any part of the Privacy Policy without notice or liability to any third party. In the event, there are significant changes in the way We treat Your Personal Information, or in the Privacy Policy, We will display a notice on the Website or send You an email, so that You may review the changed terms prior to continuing to use the Website. In the event You object to any of the changes to Our terms, and You no longer wish to use the Website, You may contact Us to deactivate Your account. Unless stated otherwise, Our current Privacy Policy applies to all information that We have about You and Your account. Using the Services on the Website or accessing the Website after a notice of change has been sent to You or published on Our Website, as the case may be, shall constitute Your consent to the changed terms.
The subsequent alternations. modifications, editions involving extensions, precisions or deletions of any policy terms and conditions would override all the previous policies, unless stated explicitly otherwise.
Your Personal Information may be stored and processed in any country where We have facilities or in which We engage service providers, and by using Our products and Services, You consent to the transfer of information to countries outside of Your country of residence, which may have different data protection rules than in Your country.
For Users located in India, ARULA is the entity responsible for determining the purposes of processing.
For Users in EU/EEA/UK, ARULA acts as the Data Controller.
Third-party service providers (hosting providers, payment processors, communication tools) act as Data Processors and may only process Personal Information under written contracts containing GDPR-compliant obligations.
Your Personal Information, including health information, may be transferred to and stored on servers located in India or other countries where ARULA or its service providers operate.
For EU/EEA/UK residents, such transfers are made only when:
a) the destination country has been granted an adequacy decision by the European Commission; or
b) we use Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or equivalent safeguards approved under GDPR; or
c) You provide explicit consent to such transfer after being informed of possible risks. You may request a copy of the transfer safeguards We use by contacting us.
We will retain Your Personal Information for a period of 10 (ten) years from date of receipt of the same, only as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, including service delivery, compliance, or legitimate business needs unless a longer retention period is required or allowed by law. Thereafter, the data is either securely deleted or anonymised.
Anonymised data may be retained for research and development purposes for a longer period or indefinitely, as it no longer identifies any individual.
In accordance with Information Technology Act, 2000 and rules made there under, to address the grievances of the Users, ARULA has set up a Grievance Redressal Forum.
In case you are dissatisfied with any aspect of Our Services, You may contact Our Grievance Redressal Officer at support@arulaforautism.com.
We assure you a time-bound response not exceeding 90 (Ninety) Business Days from the date of your complaint.
Jurisdictional policies of ARULA have been drafted in accordance and compliance with Indian laws.
Any dispute or claim arising out of or relating to this Privacy Policy shall first be attempted to be resolved amicably through good-faith discussions between the User and ARULA. If such dispute is not resolved within thirty (30) days, it shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts at Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, and shall be governed by the laws of India.
ARULA's Services are for therapeutic and educational purposes only and are not a substitute for in-person medical diagnosis or emergency care. If You are in crisis or require urgent medical assistance, please contact local emergency services immediately.
Registered Address: Flat No. 2, Jonette Building, Plot No. 554, Seth Bhagwandas Road, Matunga East, Mumbai – 400019, Maharashtra, India.
Email: support@arulaforautism.com