All About Mumbai Training

 Much later, a mature mind feels...

quite satisfied.

Along the way, my abilities were

pushed beyond limits, tested and channelized.

In an unthought of direction, yes.

but my journey has made a difference.

Content with rewards of pure efforts - 

the discoveries, the success and even the failures...

one now reflects - life's best presents

come in the most unexpected packages.

By,

Anagha Jawalekar

My husband explained me everything about boarding the local, where to get off etc. and I rote learned it like a student. (My husband always says that it seems I have never learned Geography🙈 but still I somehow managed in Mumbai). 

Our training started with the orientation meeting with Dr. Vibha. She is a charismatic person and very down to earth. She introduced us to our trainer Aarti Thakore. Aarti was the behaviour therapist at Ummeed and a very focussed and dedicated girl. In fact I was lucky that in the starting of my journey itself (2008) I met a therapist like her. She was the girl, after meeting whom I realized that there is still hope and no alternative to hard work. 

The Ummeed program was based on ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis) model. We were a group of 8 mothers and kids( 16 people) who joined the training. The purpose of the training was to train the mother so that she can understand and teach her child.

Our day used to start with a group prayer, followed by individual work session in which a mother had to work with the child. Individualized Educational Plan(IEP) used to be prepared for every kid based on his/her diagnosis and assessment.

After the individual session, we used to have a group sitting activity, lunch and group physical activity.

In the end, there used to be a discussion between therapists and mothers, the most important time of the day. We used to discuss the working of the day, difficulties we were having and most importantly kid's behaviour. That's how gradually my learning about Autism begun. We had counselling sessions also on a regular basis to keep our self motivated and charged.    

Within weeks I and Akshat got  used to with the training, commuting and Mumbai overall and despite some challenges at PG, it was like " Bam..Bam...Bam...Bam...Bambai...Bambai hamko jam gayi" ( Mumbai started suiting us). We stayed at iconic Shivaji park in Dadar and used to spent evenings there. It is really a mesmerising place and leaves a lasting impression on everyone's mind.

During this training I learned a lot and Akshat got benefited hugely. He learned to understand and follow instructions which he couldn't do earlier. He started imitating, giving eye contact, responding to his name calling which otherwise not develop in children with Autism. His father was on cloud nine when he came to meet us and Akshat asked him for a chocolate by doing a sign(The only thing lacking was his speech which somehow was not developing). For us it was nothing short than speaking because for the first time he was understanding and communicating meaningfully. Our joy and happiness was unmeasurable. (I am sure the parents of children with special needs can relate themselves with this so well).

Akshat was doing good and improving and I was following the training methodologies religiously. But sometimes I feel that I missed on his speech part. Actually that time therapies were not done so aggressively unlike today and I didn't explore it much. Also, due to absence of social media, awareness was also not there. I came to know about many resources and started reading about Autism only after I attended the Autism Conference in Bangalore in 2011. 

Today, sharing a very small conversation of me and Akshat but I felt so emotional and content after this conversation....

19-10-20

Me. Hey, you're watching a new song on youtube...

Him. Yes

Me. What's the song...

Him. Hey Shubharambh

Me. Wow! I also like that song...What so special in that song...

Him. In this song, boys enjoy their freedom and work.

Me. Ohk...Do you enjoy your freedom and work...

Him. Yes

It was so satisfying for me when he replied that he also enjoy whatever he does. I think the best comes out only when we enjoy whatever we do.