Awareness amongst corporates…

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Mandar

We visited a corporate firm, Omron on the 21st of October, 2011. The company is a health care solutions organization. We wanted to create awareness about special children in such multinational organizations and create a mark in it.

We talked to an audience of about 30-40 inquisitive people. We spoke to them in general about special children and their needs. Apart from talking in general, we spoke to everyone about Autism Spectrum Disorder in specific and what it entails and how it affects a child and his/her family.

How does Khushi help these children was another important component of our talk and thus creating awareness about what kind of help these children need.

We hope to continue creating and spreading this awareness amongst many corporate organizations, and showcase to them what do we as an organization do.

Thank you Team Omron for your time …..

Aditi Kothari

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Training in Khushi

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Mandar

We had a Training Session for all therapists in the week after Diwali. The whole week was used to understand, improve and refresh ourselves of what our goals are and how to go about achieving the goal of helping all the children who come to Khushi.

All therapists made presentations on topics that are of importance to children coming to Khushi. They spoke about the topic and then had a discussion on the myths associated with certain topics. As a part of reward, like our kids, the therapists were also rewarded for the best presentation.

On the second day of presentations, parents were also called, as we felt that if parents also got the training we got and if we work together as a team, therapists and parents, we would understand these topics in a more in-depth and different manner. The therapists would get to know what are the concerns of parents and what do they understand about topics and what they don’t, and the parents would get an idea more in detail on why the therapists are working on particular topic and what is the logic and reasoning behind the same.

The training sessions were held to enrich everyone and remind everyone of what is the goal of Khushi – Improve the quality of life of the child and help the children to achieve upto his potential.

We will keep having such training sessions in the future for both therapists and parents to keep our knowledge base up to date.

We will post the notes on our blogs soon…….

Aditi Kothari

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Gems celebrates its 2nd year!!!

Posted on August 30, 2011 by krutika

We started on 7th  June  2010 with a three and a half hour intensive programme  same like last year. This year we introduced Parent Observation Week in which parents observed their respective child for 1 whole week. There was 48hr sleepover where the kids spent their full time with their therapists eating,dancing,watching movies, going to aarey colony,trekkingetc.Then there were birthday parties celebrated every 4th Saturday of the month. There were eye opening lectures/workshops every 2nd/3rd Saturday of the month. Every month there used to be Parent’s meeting where in the parents came with their doubts, suggested their ideas, got solutions to their problems. Even we organized Bike rally from Aarey colony to Bandra Bandstand  on 2nd April,2011 for autism awareness. There was annual day celebration in Asmita Hall where in there was a fashion show performed by kids followed by their dances & skit plays. We are also planning to participate in Mumbai Marathon where in we would spread Autism awareness through Marathon at dream run on 15th Jan,2012  Overall our GEMS 2nd year was filled with lots of fun, enjoyment & exciting!!!

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Moly speaks about autism!!!

Posted on April 12, 2011 by krutika

Hi, I am Moly and I am going to talk about Autism today. Imagine it is late Sunday night and you are solving a crossword. You have almost cracked it but just that last word that you need to figure out. It is also the time to hit the bed. You looked up for the word , googled a  little but no success. You decide to go to bed, but you have a restless night. Monday morning was no better. A single bit of the puzzle has you on your edge. It is so frustrating. You are at your wits end for the answer.

I am sure all of you would have gone through this feeling. Now imagine this feeling 24×7. Friends all of us battling with autism are looking for this missing piece of the puzzle.

Almost 3 years ago – the world around me shattered when my son was diagnosed. It was a hot afternoon of 14th June 2008 when the developmental pediatrician gave her verdict. The only thing which we understood is that something dreadful has happened.  Millions of questions hit me one after the other – why my son, have I done something wrong, will he ever come out of it, why me, what next? And believe me – just like your puzzle I had no answer to any of it.

I had no hope, Here I was dreaming of my next promotion at office and now I had no answer to basic questions of life. Being from a family with many doctors, I had never heard about Autism. What do I do. The more people I spoke to, the more my heart sank, No Cure for it, Accept it and move on was what everybody told me.

But it was my son that they were speaking about. How could I let him go.

And then I met this Lady whose son was in std 8 and went to normal school, she had put in a lot of  effort and now her son was just like any other kid. The only message which she had to give me was “If you know how your childs mind works you can solve the mystery. Understand your child first”

That small meeting that day changed my life. It was my first ray of hope in the darkness. If she can – I can and I will. Then I started my journey with my son.  

We started off with occupational therapy. It is there that I was made to realize that all is not lost, we had diagnosed at an early age and with the right amount of effort and hard work we could still bring my son back into my world. I started understanding the problem better and by gods grace my son started responding to the therapy.

In the initial days of diagnosis my only objective was my son should talk, as we intensified the work, my son started taking his first baby steps towards development. First came the words which were probably the best gift by god to me. It motivated me to no end. But then moving from words to sentences took us months of hard work.

As I matured in understanding the problem, I also realized the biggest challenge which lay before me and that was to teach a human mind how to think. With this dawned awareness that the battle cannot be fought with an hour a day or two hours a day of structured therapy schedule, it has to be imbibed in the lifestyle. It has to be a 24×7 job.

My son was on with OT, Speech and behaviour therapy. I learned how to work in these classes, also learned to understand the problems and imbibed therapy into my daily life.

Friends it has been a long three years now, there has been days of frustration when despite of all the hard work he was not responding, sleepless nights of trying to find a solution to a problem, intensive research work in trying to fit a particular piece of puzzle, and yes at times wondering when will it end.

Today my son goes to normal school – is passionate about dinosaurs, has a zillion questions in his mind, wants to make friends and says “Mom I am so clever”. He is such a rockstar. There is still much to achieve with him but deep within myself I know he will.

Life has changed so much – Sunday mornings are no longer about lazing in the bed till 10 in the morning, That new fashion trend that all the mothers’s in school talk about seems so trivial, my personal space and time are meaningless concepts, that other parents look at your child differently hurts, friends distancing themselves is a reality but the journey of discovery of my son has made everything else seem so trivial

God has his way and I have stopped asking why Me.

The only message that I want to leave you here today is that it is a difficult journey but not an impossible one.

If you know or see a child which has symptoms of autism – don’t ignore it. There is no substitute to early intervention.

Do not be in denial. It will only make things worse and

There is no time for self pity or grieving – just fold your sleeves and get on with the job.

In the modern world – there are facts that we have come to accept and live with. Autism is a reality that we cannot ignore. With 1 out of every 90 children being diagnosed with autism it is an alarming issue that is much closer to home than we think it might be. Let’s spread the awareness of Autism and fight it for the sake of our Future Generations.

Thank you

Author: Moly Suryavanshi

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Straight from Archana’s heart

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Mandar

Hi, my name is Archana and I am a parent of a 6 yr old boy, who was
diagnosed with autism around 3yrs back. I clearly remember that day and still get goose bumps when I think of that moment when we were told, Mr and Mrs Dabhoiwala, your child has autism….god!! I can’t describe how I felt. My husband was quite strong and held up pretty well…but I just burst out crying..and the only thing I asked was…”will he ever get married??” (thinking back..god how stupid of me to ask that question!!!)

That ride back from the evaluation centre was a looong silent ride… both my husband and I were feeling bad… very bad… but neither of us knew why? Yes, I’d heard the word Autism before… knew it was supposed to be bad…. But why? How? What does one do with the diagnosis? Absolutely no idea….

I came back home and my family had already opened up some sites on autism. So we started looking at symptoms of autism….

First one said… no eye contact… we looked at rohan… he looked right back at us..

Second said… in a world of their own… baap re.. if Rohan was in a world of his own.. the world would have been a happier place to live in.. a few kids would have been saved from his wrath.. not to mention a few of my family members!!! Rohan is an extremely connected child..loves to be around people….

Third said… lining up of toys, spinning wheels of toys, etc… Rohan never showed any interest in toys.. he loved to go through his books.

Then it started….fourth said.. poor communication… ok yes.. rohan at 3yrs of age had a very very limited vocabulary.. but I was told… arre ladka hai.. boys talk late… chalo..that point also we shall discount.

Fifth said… adherence to routine… ok… rohan had been a bit tantrummy off late… I was working at that time and I would get a call almost everyday saying.. didi, who mera baal kheech raha hai.. who ro raha hai.. pata nahi kyon….etc etc…

Well, that afternoon was spent in trying to fool ourselves that rohan really does not fit into any of the so called symptoms… but deep inside…. My husband and I both knew that something was not right and we needed to get our act together and do whatever it takes to bring this little rascal of ours in line!

Standing here today… we are in a muuuuch better place than when we started and these are a few things ive learnt…

Like the famous paint ad that has the tagline… mera wala pink, or mera wala green…. Autism is also…. Mera wala autism, or rohan wala autism, or archana wala autism.. or just add your childs name wala autism…. Each and every child on the spectrum is different… and I cant specify it more! Rohan wala autism is something like this…

Rohan had poor communication but was very social… that’s why when he used to play in a group, instead of getting attention by talking, he would either push or take away some toy or hit his friends.

Because of his poor communication obviously his social skills were absolutely zero.. group setting that required a child to wait, share, take turns, etc, which a typical child would learn on his own, were all missing.

Rohan also had very very minimal play. Actually till date, he would rather flip through a book than pick up a toy and play… because for play you need to be able to imagine a little bit.

Rohan wala autism also comes with varying SI needs which is apparent in his need to
squeeze people, hug them tight, or just clench his own body , or his need for excessive swinging….

But we’ve learnt slowly and steadily that:

Rohan is a visual learner… put him on a visual schedule and life becomes easy for all 11 members of my family!

Rohan has a big issue with waiting… again put him on some sort of a visual cue for time… life is better..

Ive also learnt that when you enjoy and work with Rohan…its more productive than when I’m worried and stressed out….

Ive also learnt the biggest lesson of them all….DO NOT COMPARE YOUR CHILD TO THE OTHER ON THE SPECTRUM….. look for that special thing your child does… it maybe just a tight hug or a sweet smile… but its yours to cherish

But the most special thing that I have learnt is that truly..these kids… are god in its most purest and innocent form! Ask your child to lie….you think they can?? You think they can cheat?? Can you imagine a world like that??

…

I’d like to end with a beautiful paragraph written by a parent of a child with special needs. I have taken the liberty to modify it so that its more appropriate to us Indians.

Welcome to Bengal

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with special needs – to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand, to imagine how it would feel. It’s like this…

When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip – to Kashmir. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Mughal gardens, the mountain resort of Gulmarg, the sking, the lakes, the beautiful shikaras, the cool cool weather. You may learn some handy Kashmiri phrases. It’s all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Bengal”
“Bengal?!” you say. “What do you mean, Bengal?” I signed up for Kashmir! I’m supposed to be in Kashmir. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Kashmir.

But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Bengal and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to some horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of famine and disease. It’s just a different place.

So you must go out and buy a new guidebook. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It’s just a different place. It’s less flashy than Kashmir. But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around, and you begin to notice that Bengal has hill stations like Darjeeling and Kalimpong, Bengal has the sunderbans forest housing our national animal, Bengal has also given birth to Rabindranath Tagore!!

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Kashmir, and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life you will say, “Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go. That’s what I had planned.”

The pain of that will never, ever, go away, because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss.

But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Kashmir, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Bengal.

We are lucky to have a large supportive family that ensures that Rohan is never in a world of his own…
We are lucky to have friends that let me “borrow” their kids to teach Rohan how to play..
But most of all, we were lucky to have met Reena at a time when all we knew about Autism was barely how to spell it!!
I hope that this event that Reena has organized helps to make Autism a more understood and an accepted phenomena.
I hope that next time you see a child misbehaving or throwing a tantrum or acting weird…you will not be quick to judge, but you will be quick to understand!

Author : Archana
adabhoiwala@yahoo.com

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Rate your child’s eye contact

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Mandar

On a scale of one to ten, ten being the best eye contact in the world. Where did they fall? No matter what you think, if your child has autism, their eye contact can and should improve. If you think your child has good eye contact, that’s good, but you want spectacular eye contact…or else, you wouldn’t be reading this.

The key to obtaining eye contact is to position yourself to wear eye contact is not difficult for your child. i.e. on their level, not looking down at them, not standing behind them. If they are lying on the floor, you get on the floor etc…

Don’t be afraid to ask them to look at you. If they are talking, wait until they are finished and then ask them to look at your eyes and repeat themselves. If your child zones out sounds, point to your eyes with a huge smile on your face.

If you are playing with toys, play with them on your eye level rather than on the floor or table. Hold items close to your eyes. This gives your child the opportunity to look at your eyes more often if the toy or item is right next to them. Do the same when they want something. Pick the item up and say, “Do you want…” meanwhile holding the object right next to your eyes

Lastly, when your child does look at you tell them how great that is, how it makes you happy, how their eyes are gorgeous and you love looking at them. Think about it, if someone was telling you this every time you looked at them you would probably look more often, wouldn’t you?

Author : Deep
deepak.prasad@3i-infotech.com

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Gems (intensive therapy unit) completes a year

Posted on July 27, 2010 by vineeta

Gems completes a year ……..!!”

1.GETTING STARTED

We started on  8th June  2009 with a three and a half hour programme for each child which included two individual sessions of 45min each, a one hour group session and half an hour of break. Initially children took some time to get accustomed to their new routine but by the end of the year all children know their routine very well and are well settled. Gems meant intensive individual and group therapy, Monday to Thursday . Fridays were lot of fun and learning as we went for outings all around the city.

2. INDIVIDUAL  AND  GROUP  SESSIONS

The goals for each child were set and reviewed by Dr. Reena  every  two months . Our individual  sessions ensured  that each child was given personal  therapy as per his need and group therapy as well  so that they learned social skills and how much fun it was to play together and take turns. Our ever enthusiastic therapists ensured that all the learning happened with lots of fun and happiness  around.

3. OUTINGS

In one year children have not just learned to behave properly during the outings but to enjoy their outings to the fullest . Apart from visiting each other’s home regularly we went to various parks and restaurants  and also to  Ismail Yusuf College, Oberoi  Mall, Hub Mall, National Parks to name a few…not to forget that we went to Gateway of India by local train and had a fun filled ferry ride.. also we went to Essel World on the Autism Awareness Day.

4. VACATIONS

During all vacations at Khushi there has always been some activity or the other happening so that the children who did not have any plans of their own were always occupied with something filled with lots of fun and learning. These were the times when Gems ensured that children got adjusted to coming to the centre at different times of the day to do entirely different things.

5. SLEEP-OVERS

During summer vacations  children were called for sleep-overs where they spent 24 hours with their therapists eating, sleeping, watching movies , swimming, gardening and having lots fun. This was probably  the first time when most of  them spent a day without their parents being around.

6. PARENT- TRAINING

At Gems we had parent training workshop where all parents were given a chance to work with the children in group and individually.These sessions were an eye opener because parents realised that with some knowledge and understanding about the children it was not very difficult to make learning and spending time together at home a happy and fulfilling experience.

7. CELEBRATIONS

At Gems we have not missed a single chance to celebrate be it the birthdays of our friends or Rakshabandhan, Navratri, Diwali, Christmas, New Year, Holi or  Baisakhi. We celebrated them all in great style .

This is our First Anniversary. We  are looking forward to many more to come by God’s grace all filled with loads of fun and learning and shared with many more friends……………….

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The Blog!!!!

Posted on July 27, 2010 by Mandar

Hi All,

Finally we have, what you are looking for. Yes that’s right. We have started our blog, where we will be sharing our ideas, our recommendation our experiences etc. You are most welcome to comment on it. If you want to discuss on any topic or let other viewer know about it then let us know. We will publish your stories here.

Thanks you for your continuous support .

Regards,

Team Khushi

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