Our experiments with Autism - A never ending journey

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, des...

 Hello Readers, Yesterday I asked Akshat what he wanted to do in his language session, and he chose picture inferencing. Picture inferencing has been a consistent choice for him since the early days of his language-learning journey. More on that later... For the session, I selected a picture from Google showing Team India celebrating their T20 World Cup win with the trophy. I asked Akshat to interpret the image and here is his interpretation.  As always, we experimented with creating an image on the same topic using MS-Paint. Hope you like it. Enjoy reading and stay tuned! Akshat & Ritu 3-07-24 The image captures the winning celebrations of Team India after they defeated South Africa in the T20 World Cup final. The image depicts many emotions as India won the World Cup after seventeen years. There is pride, thrill, success, and a sense of contentment. I do not follow cricket much but get to know the latest updates from my daddy, as he is a huge fan. People in India are...

  Hey readers! It's been a long gap since either Akshat or I dropped a blog post here. Lately, I have been encouraging Akshat to write but last month seemed to be a writer's block for him. We tried brainstorming different topics, but nothing seemed to click. Despite that Akshat managed to pen a few poems, especially for his dad on the occasion of  Father's Day. Today, Akshat wanted to share one of those poems with you all and a conversation we had over one of his favourite songs, 'Papa Kehte hai' (Father says) from the movie 'Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak' Stay tuned and enjoy! Akshat & Ritu 15-6-24 M. After a long time, you were watching the song, ‘Papa kehte hai’ today… A.  One of my favorite songs. M. Hmm…Do you remember you used to play this song on casio(keyboard)… A. Yess. M. Hmm…You used to play it nice… A. hmm. M. You tried to learn the keyboard(Casio) for a long…Did you used to enjoy playing it? A. I think music is good for listening bu...

  DIL CHAHTA HAI People often wish for many things and expect them to become reality. Dil chahta hai! Yes, we tend to expect so many things in our lives that we often end up cribbing and fussing. But does the expectation always need to be fulfilled? Desires are feelings that knows no limit and expectations many times get you trapped in feelings that leave you emotionally fragile. As human mind always feels that expectations should meet. However, learning flexibility helps in keeping oneself grounded. Having said that, keeping expectations are not always bad. A reasonable amount of expectation is good as it helps in balancing bonds in any relationship. So, let the dil wish, desire and expect but let the mind keep a watch. Akshat Rassay 23-1-24

  21-3-24 This month India is going to vote for a new government. The nation will look forward to the making of a new India, which should be shining as a progressive, liberal and inclusive country. To vote means exercising your basic right in a democracy. It allows an individual to express his concerns and opinions. India is a young country. More than 2/3 population is below 40 years. And I fall in that category. Being young, I aspire to be a writer and as a neurodivergent, I wish for a society that is more inclusive in actions than in thoughts. Akshat Rassay

World Autism Awareness day Can mind be confined within boundaries? Can thoughts be limited? No, certainly not! Thoughts give wings to the dreams. They are fuel for the mind. Every human being is capable to think. However, a general perception of society negates a neurodivergent’s capability to think. The society assume that neurodivergents lack brains but that is not true. It is interesting to mention here that thinking is deeply rooted with autism. Being a neurodivergent (autistic) myself, I feel that I can articulate my thoughts clearly. It is a freeing feeling to express oneself. This World Autism Awareness Day, I hope for a cognitively diverse society, which believes in inclusion. -Akshat Rassay

  20-2-24 Birthday celebrations are feelings of both happiness and being social. There is so much of wild excitement in people that sometime it is difficult to manage. Still birthday celebrations are interesting life experience. This year, on 19 th February I have celebrated my 20 th birthday. It was good to celebrate at REACH centre. Friends and teachers wished me. How wonderful it was. There were feelings of joy, kindness, and being social. We had a yummy time while gorging over samosas, khaman and cake.  Yay! Birthday celebration was so cool.   Akshat Rassay