The 50th Post






Hello Readers!

I started this blog in July 2021 to share our experiences with Autism. At that time Akshat had just begun typing and expressing himself. Someone once asked me what I would write about once our story was told. Now, after three years and 50 posts later, Akshat has taken over and shares his own writings. The journey has been a roller coaster ride and full of learning.

Today's blog post is particularly special, being the 50th post. 

I'm excited to introduce you to Vedant Patil, a 13-year-old minimally speaking (having a few words) boy with autism. Vedant's mother sought my guidance two years ago, for communication, and we've been working together since. Vedant now communicates through a letterboard, app, and typing. He and Akshat often chat with each other using their AAC tools. It's incredibly encouraging and satisfying to see Vedant's progress. His mother often says that she feels like her son is now talking to her about anything and everything, despite his communication challenges.

I hope every non-speaking/minimally speaking child finds a tool to communicate and express themselves freely.

Sharing a conversation (with Vedant's and his mother's consent) I had with him that took place over 3-4 days.

R. Do you watch cricket?

V. yes

R. Do you like cricket?

V. yes I love cricket.

R. Which cricket tournament happened recently?

V. twenty twenty world cup tournament.

 R. Did you follow it?

V. yes I followed it.

R. That’s good…Which team won the tournament?

V. India won.

R. Wow! How did you feel?

V. very happy.

R. That’s so nice to know….Can you rate your happiness on a scale of 1 to 10?

V. I can. 10

R. ok…so, that means you are ‘thrilled’ by India's victory.

V. yews.o

R. What is the word?

V. thrilled

R. Any other situation in which you feel ‘thrilled’

V. eating  spicy teekha

R. Can you tell me any of your spicy favorite food?

V. achar

R. Ohhk…You mean 'pickle'…Even I like pickles a lot…Which pickle do you like the most?

V. raw  mango

R. okay…even I and Akshat like that pickle a lot.

R. See, we started with cricket and reached to pickle…

V. yes this is really good.


Comments

  1. sharadasubbaramanJuly 17, 2024 at 10:03 AM

    So happy to read Vendant's conversation with you Ritu and is progressing well with his Mom 's effort & hats off to Vendant & his Mom .

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnaghaJuly 17, 2024 at 10:43 AM

    Amazing conversation... it's heartwarming!

    ReplyDelete

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