Coming to Day Care & School...

The therapist spotted Ria’s rigidity and told Chandni to introduce something new everyday. Chandni did so and then Ria requested for what she wanted, using language functionally, which was not the case earlier. She asked to colour, or cut, or paste.

The therapist then scaled back her sessions. The occupational therapist left town, and the new one felt that with hard work Ria can enter the mainstream. Chandni finally felt hopeful that she too will have a life and not have to look after her for all of her life.

Chandni become more patient as being impatient only made Ria's behaviour worse. Chandni tried to make sure she spoke with her in a calming tone, so that she was calm too. This spills over in Chandni's interactions with others too, whether it be the nanny, her husband, son, or mother-in-law.

Ria could read, and the visual schedule helped make her more compliant. Chandni then met Dr Kadam in summer. She said she tests after the child is five years old, for a formal diagnosis.

Chandni's husband was brave enough to take the twins to the mall. Ria was actually better behaved than her twin. She did try to sip Chandni's LIT with a straw, the blue attracting her at TGIF.

Ria's pushing others continued to be a challenge. Chandni distracted her, kept her occupied to ensure she didn't do that. Ria was in day care. Nothing untoward happened, that would force them to take her out. School started in June.

Dr Kadam recommended More Than Words, a book that had many games and strategies to get an ASD child talking and more involved in daily activities. Chandni realized many activities in the book were used by her therapists too.

One tip which Chandni still uses, is to call the child once, and if she doesn’t respond, ask again and help or nudge her. Another is to wait 15 seconds for an answer. Ria likes deep pressure, and Chandni would hug her often, or wrap her in a blanket, or put a pillow on top of her.

Dr. Kadam pointed out that Ria's touching her twin showed she needed deep pressure stimulation, so Chandni would try to ensure she got that in an adequate amount, so that she wouldn’t touch him.

Within a month of school starting, the principal separated the twins, as Ria would talk to him and not interact with others. Initially, it was hard for her – she would climb up the stairs to her twin's floor whenever she missed him, but gradually she adjusted to her new environment.

Montessori is specially benefical for ASD children, as they can move around, and use sensorial equipment. Sometimes, when the school would call Chandni and her husband to observe their children’s work, they would cringe, as they watched the teacher call Ria, and she wouldn’t respond.

Gradually, Ria started doing well in school. Just once, there was an incident. She had some playdough in her hand when she had to go to school. At school, since playdough isn’t allowed, the teacher tried to prise it out of her clenched fist, but she cried.

To be continued...

This post is a part of Blogchatter A2Z.