How I taught my son to communicate?

November 08, 2021

Everyday you see me struggle

trying to reach you

Do I reach you? I think I do...

but just want to be sure.

If you could reach me as well,

I could hear you out

everything the unsaid words

never told me about.

And then my questions

could have their answers

For I am trying to solve a jigsaw

without knowing the whole picture.

I wish I could get rid of the

vacuum that stands in between us

stopping your voice from

travelling through to me.

Your actions grab my attention

but do not convey the real thing.

and all that you could tell if ...

if only there was a medium

for you to connect and to share

a snapshot of your mind to me.

By, Anagha Jawalekar

How I taught my son to communicate? It is the topic for which I have started this blog. A subject so close to my heart and, I got the most success in that while working with Akshat. I feel communication is the fundamental requirement to know any individual and, it becomes paramount while dealing with children/adults with Autism.

When I was doing the mother-child training in Delhi, I asked my trainer that would Akshat ever say what does he want to eat. That time, that was my only expectation and, the trainer said that yes, it is possible but, you need to work patiently. I had never imagined that such a small expectation would bring us to this stage. It was like a mess until he was not communicating but today, when he shares his thoughts with me, I feel like he's talking to me and, I never feel the void of him being nonverbal. I feel content when he gives me suggestions and opinions and even argues with me just like any other teenager. In one of his communication classes, he said to the counselor that hugging mamma is the sweetest thing, while in another session, he said, my mother, is terrible. (Behaving like any typical teen). Sometimes, he amazes me by the kind of questions he throws, he asks what is the consequence of being ignorant? or what is money-minded? Or in one session, he asked the counselor how important to have a girlfriend? While writing all this, I remember a line of a famous hindi song that resonates with my feelings very well. It goes like this...sirf aehsas he ye...ruh se mehsoos karo...pyar ko pyar hi rehne do, koi naam na do...Love is unconditional and has no boundaries. Communicating with Akshat gives me immense satisfaction and, the more I know him, the more I feel lucky myself. He says that I taught him to express, and that's a marvelous thing that happened to him.

I started working on his expressive language in 2015 because of the behaviors he started showing then. I like to thank Ms. Simmi Vasu and Ms. Archita Basu, who has been an integral part of our communication journey.

With my experience, I can say that communication is the solution to many issues. The child can convey his thoughts, preferences which ultimately help build his self-confidence. Through communication, a channel has been open in the child's world and, it is easy to understand them.

More on the same topic in the upcoming posts...

Today I am sharing few inferencing images which Akshat worked on as a part of his language and communication learning.... The explanation of the images is given by Akshat...

28-4-21

Image-1

I think men in locked face show that their mind is locked. they are not open to new thing. the other man in open lock is trying to learn new things. he is open minded.

people should be open minded to learn new things and tolerate each other.

6-5-21

Image-2

the image of man and animals here shows that some animals who lives in the water or land are also asked to climb the tree. only the monkey can climb the tree.

the image tells us that there should not be one criteria point for all. it would kill intelligence and thoughtfulness.