Author: Andre Velho | Mar 15, 2017
Where Gaurav Started
When Gaurav first started Autism Intervention Services at Sethu in the start of 2016, he had just been diagnosed with autism. He was only 3 and hadn’t yet received any intervention or therapy as yet. His parents were desperate to help him get better. He spoke a few words like ‘paani’ ‘chocky’ (chocolate) ‘gaadi’, one word at a time and only with his parents. He clung to them all the time and did not trust anybody and so he never played with other children. He was happiest on his own, with his cars and trains. He refused to participate in any activities at a table and would throw the puzzles on the floor.
What We Did
It was important for Gaurav’s parents to understand how autism was affecting Gaurav. This understanding enabled them to manage his difficult behaviour. We spoke about ‘motivation’ and ‘reinforcement’. Starting with activities that Gaurav loved like cars and musical toys, we used these to help him sit at a table, even if it was for 1 or 2 minutes only. His parents were amazed to see that he could actually sit at a table! After he developed a tolerance to sit for about 5 minutes at a time, playing with his favourite toys and eating his favourite food, we taught him first and then. First do a small puzzle, then play with your car… and like magic, within a month Gaurav could sit for 15 minutes without getting upset doing an activity that I chose for him! We used a ‘first-then’ visual aid like the one shown below. This aid presents children with what we need them to do now (first) and what they will do next (then).
He also joined Asha, a parent-toddler group for families of children with autism. This gave Gaurav the opportunity to be around other people and trust other people to work and play with him while his parents took small steps to standing away from him for some time. At the end of the 3 month program, Gaurav’s parents could stand outside the room for 10 minutes while Gaurav played with the other children in the program! His communication improved too. Singing and imitating nursery rhymes and working on his communication skills at every opportunity we could, Gaurav started learning new words and even joining them, saying “paani di” (give water), “chocky zai” (want chocolate), “dher ukkad” (open door).
Where Gaurav is Today
Early intensive intervention helped Gaurav steadily develop skills. Today he goes to his local primary school and his teachers are very happy with his performance. His parents are confident when dropping him off and he gets excited to go to class without any crying! He now joins three words when speaking and has than 100 words in his vocabulary. He still is not toilet trained because this was not on his parents’ priority list at the time, but when he does pass stools, he can communicate that he needs to be cleaned and we are now working on toilet training. Gaurav has started attending remedial education services at Sethu to improve his academic performance. Using a visual schedule of his activities, he can sit at the table with his teacher for 45 minutes with a couple of breaks in between. His parents use a visual schedule at home as well and this helps Gaurav understand what is going to happen at different times during the day. This sort of structure is very important to help him make sense of the world around him.
Sure, Gaurav has a long way to go but with continued intervention and dedication from his parents, from Sethu and from his school, he is well on his way to being an independent boy.