How I taught my son to communicate? - Working on Typing Skills

 

After practicing and regularly using it, Akshat picked up well with the app. He now understood that he could communicate his needs, wants, and thoughts through the app. Every day, I try that, he can get more and more opportunities to communicate through the app. Still, he rarely gets a chance to communicate with others through the app. Therefore, I am a bit concern about generalization. However, he is now habitual of using it with me, so I make sure that most of our routine communication should happen through the app only.

 Along with the app, I was also working on his cognitive and language skills and following are some basic rules that helped me on working his communication and language. In addition, my observations helped me to plan the next step, and reading Bill Nason helped me understand his condition and Autism as a whole.

1. Give instructions as per child’s processing level: Earlier, Akshat could only process one instruction at a time, so I had to pause after every single instruction. After acting, I used to give him the next instruction. Now, he can listen and process to 2-3 instructions at one go and perform accordingly.
2. Instruct in a slow pace: If he is familiar with the work, he will understand the instruction at one go and perform. However, in a new situation, the instruction needs to be given slowly, sometimes with the physical prompt. In addition, many times, I give him instruction, and he does not respond immediately but I do not repeat my instruction, as I know that his brain needs time to process. After a few seconds, he gets up and acts. So one needs to be observant and patient. I think all the parents with autistic kids must be having this idea.
3. Labeling: This is also very important. Name everything. Instead of saying ‘this or that, I preferred to call everything by name. It helped Akshat in knowing different things and developed his vocabulary. 
4. Talk, Talk and Talk: We are a nuclear family. Therefore, only Akshat and I used to be at home most of the time, and eventually, I started talking to him about everything. I never bothered that whether he would understand or not.  
5. Thinking it aloud: According to Bill Nason, modelling our thinking helps a child in experiencing how we “think it through”. Therefore, whenever possible, I speak loudly in front of Akshat what I am thinking. I do not know how much he gets it, but talking to him has now become my habit.

 

After 2-3 years, we started facing limitations in the LetMeTalk app as it does not have a sentence formation feature. Akshat was now ready to answer the ‘Why’ and ‘How’ questions. However, he was not able to answer it through the app. Therefore, first, I thought to buy another app but, Akshat found its interface complex and did not get used to it. Therefore, once again, I decided to work on his typing skills. At that time, I had no idea about where I would reach or what I would achieve. I just wanted that he can type meaningfully and express himself. I had never imagined that this would be going to the toughest and most rewarding phase of our journey.

To be continue...

 Presenting two poems written by Akshat. I would like to thanks Anagha, who suggested me to try poetry with Akshat. She often writes beautiful lines for this blog. Poetry writing came out well with Akshat and gradually he is getting through it. I am sharing the first poem he wrote and the recent one. The format of first poem is 'cinquain' and the other one is 'Quatrain'.

21-7-21 - 1st poem (Cinquain format)

Chocolate cake

Awesome, yummy

Eating, Licking, thinking

Hot tempting my favourite

Best

17-11-2021 Latest (Quatrain format)

Time in my hand.

Until it mean to end.

Is precious and priceless.

I should not make a mess.

Akshat Rassay.

23-11-2021

In the above lines, what do you mean by ‘mess’ and what do you want to finish…

By mess I mean waste of time and I want to finish my work.

M. What type of work you want to finish and have you set any deadline for it…

A. the work is about learning new things and there is no time limit.

M. I am glad that you are looking forward to learn new things; adapting better ways of thinking…This will help you to be more flexible…

A. Ok. I will try to be flexible in my thoughts and actions.