Our experiments with Autism - A never ending journey

30-5-22 Visit to the dentist Courage is all you need To beat the challenge Mood causes the irritation That very sensitive inner hot tooth How much valour it needed yes the courage is all you need.   By, Akshat Rassay In the last post, I shared how I am trying to build resilience in Akshat. The work is still in progress and it will take time to reach anywhere. I realised that with age he needs to learn advance life skills like seeing a doctor, hospitalization, blood test, dealing with a sudden change etc. Amaze’s intermediate social skill program taught some of these topics and I envision that it is the time to work on these skills. I have serious gum issues and dentist says that it could be congenital or genetic. Therefore, I was already concerned about Akshat’s oral hygiene and when the topic was discussed in the Amaze’s social skill program, I got the courage and decided to try for a dental check-up for Akshat. The plaque had already started accumulating in his ...

 Resilience One who bends, rebounds you see And stuff that's stiff, breaks tad Make lemonade with unexpected lemons Adapt to change - it's not all bad Being aware will help you cope Recognize your emotions, understand Self compassion can heal, not pity, Take a break, don't be overwhelmed Hold your faith, when you're set back Of old successes, make a mental bank Be rational, focus, find positive solution Move up your strength, boost up your rank Many things are beyond control yet final choice is always your own You're a survivor, not a victim So act like one and let it be known. It, that's flex, regains its form. That deforms is mere plastic. Come now, spring back from crisis, Be resilient, that's fantastic. By, Anagha Jawalekar As I have discussed in detail in the last post about all the measures, that I am trying, to manage Akshat’s aggression, but my bigger purpose is to make him recognize his own valour and to use it whenever and wherever needed in life. ...

  When I wrote the first part on dealing with aggression, I received many messages personally. In most of the messages, it had been said that one needs courage to share what I have shared. I do not know if I had done anything courageous. I simply wanted to share my experiences that I am going through in this autism journey. Many parents have gone through these experiences and/or going through it, but not all of them are in a situation to share them. I know personally parents who are not only struggling with the child’s challenges but with other issues also. I gather my courage by looking up to them, and I dedicate this post to them. The post will be a little long. Please bear with me. Currently, we are walking on the toughest terrain of our journey. Akshat’s aggression is on peak and he does not want to listen to ‘NO’ whereas, most of the time he says ‘NO’. (Reasons I have discussed in earlier post) Therefore, what I have identified is, 1.     I have to pre...

Anger The weather is pleasant again at the end of the hailstorm as it's late summer bright and beautiful  everything else is the same yet the crops have suffered That fit of rage that boils the blood in your nerves and takes over your mind That drives you to aggression to achieve what you think is only freedom Builds up like a storm, pours down and abates Of that I live in constant fear for I have sowed and I have toiled and I put up a fight as I ought to Except it crushes me to you, however, the world remains unchanged. By, Anagha Jawalekar I request everyone not to be judgemental while reading this post. The purpose of writing this post is to share my experiences. Autism has taught me a new lesson every day. Be it awareness, acceptance, perseverance, resilience, patience, hope, or detachment in attachment.   No, I do not intend to become a monk, but yes, over the period, these qualities have developed while working with Akshat. I am sure other fellow parents would agree wi...

  Hello readers, In today's post, I am sharing another guest post by Akshat's counsellor, Suhasini Sundaresan. We started taking sessions from her in around April 2021 when one day, during conversation, Akshat shared with me something about friendship and I realized that he needs some friends to hang out. After searching online, I got to know about ASK and got in touch with Suhasini and our journey started. The purpose of these sessions was to give exposure to online classes to Akshat, build one to one communication and of course providing him a buddy. I admire Suhasini for being extremely patient and supportive with us. She's one of the few who is in this field by choice and not by destiny. About Suhasini Sundaresan: Hi, I’m Suhasini Sundaresan, a Mumbai based mental health counsellor and psychologist at Adult Support Kendra, Mumbai. I’ve done my graduation in psychology, masters in psychology(clinical), post graduate diploma in counselling psychology and international dip...

 Dear readers, today I am sharing Akshat's English teacher, Ms. Ami Desai's journey with him. We are grateful to her that she agreed to teach Akshat. It was a bit challenging for her because for the first time she had to teach any neurodiverse kid and she didn't know anything about autism. But she took the challenge in her stride and supported us. Thankfully, as the class was online, Akshat got use to it. Also, he was attending his one to one communication sessions already and that made him habitual of online medium . The purpose of starting this class was to strengthen his English skills and secondly he could work with another person. It's been a year and the class is going on. Akshat is much settled now. I have to sit with him during the class but small changes are there. Ms. Ami has taught him several concepts and he needs to practice them to improve his language. Ms. Ami Desai has been teaching English since 2000. Currently, she is working as an IELTS faculty in Vad...