Autism : The Winner’s Spectrum

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Juliedespino

@Juliedespino

Beginner

Posted: 8 years ago

Hello dear Friends

Here is an interesting topic on Autism .

Credits goes to our dear Creative Corner Team

The Awareness subteam

Edited by Sutapasima - 1 years ago

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Frequent Posters

verisimilitude

@verisimilitude

Inactive

+ 7

Posted: 8 years ago

Mr. and Mrs. Sharma sat down tentatively. Mr. Singh, the head of Sunshine High School sat two rows behind the couple.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that their only son, Shivam was diagnosed with Autism. Mr. and Mrs. Sharma were already struggling with bombshell of a revelation when they were called by the principle of the institution.

Children of age ranging roughly from five to eighteen were roughly assigned with different kinds of work. They were all guided by different instructors appointed to each group. Activities like puzzles, recitation of nursery rhymes were conducted.

Each activity were designed to improve their receptiveness to the various stimuli around them.

The couple looked around to see cardboard relics of the heroes of the comics series- the X-Men placed at different points of the room.

Hardly had the bell rang when the coordinator entered the classroom.

He bowed and the kids followed suit.

Mr. Lalwani, the coordinator, then called for silence.

"Today, my little stars, I'm here to tell you a special story. A story that is very close to my heart.

"Once upon a time there was a boy, Charles, just like you and me, just a tad bit different. He lost his father at a very young age." He stood up on the chairs lines up against the wall. "He was very upset when that happened. Then, one day, he realized he could read minds. You want to know how he did it?" Some of the children nodded.

Mr. Lalwani jumped down and picked the youngest of the kids, "Okay, lets see what Akash is thinking. You want a round of the one-two-three game, isn't it?" he winked at the child who hesitated, but then let the teacher guide him. Smiling, Mr. Lalwani, touched the boy's forefinger with his thumb. He softly pushed his thumb down and then helped the boy touch his thumb again. They played the game till the boy had enough. The teacher smiled at the child who was now placing some colourful rings on a pole in the order of their size. It was clear that he had done it many times.

However what attracted Mrs. Sharma's attention was how the teacher looked positively stressed while playing the game. It was as if he too was facing the same problem as the little boy in coordinating his fingers in time with the child. She assigned the reason to the general stress of handling fifty differently abled kids all at once and cast aside the thought.

Mr. Lalwani continued, "So, this boy, Charles was a little different from us. He could read minds. But his brother Cain often fought with him due to it. He used to get very angry when his brother shouted at him. One day, Charles read his brother's mind and realized that he was only doing that to relieve his sadness at being neglected by their mother and Charles' step-father.

"After he graduated, he met Scott, another boy who was just like him. Thus, Charles Xavier started a school called the Xavier's School for Gifted Children that was both a training ground and a refuge for the children with special children like him."

"The world called these specially abled children Mutants, while Charles, now Professor Xavier, called them the X-Men."

"Then Charles traveled around the world picking up students- mutant humans and normal ones alike."

"Some were unable to speak their minds, struggling within themselves to keep up with the pace of the world."

"Some were prisoners in their own minds, tired of the drabness of a day but terrified of life's uncertainty."

"Some were so frustrated with being snubbed and rebuffed by the their 'normal' peers that they often sunk to the level of harming themselves."

"But hey! They did not know they could save the world!"

"Every child chosen by Xavier was brought to his home, the X mansion, to train them in accepting who they are and in loving those who were a little different from them."

With a jolt Mrs. Sharma realized Mr. Lalwani was indeed talking of the symptoms of autism. A look at her husband, and they realized the teacher was speaking more to them than to the children.

Both touched and taken aback, Mr. and Mrs. Sharma decided to meet the teacher in person.

Edited by verisimilitude - 8 years ago

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proteeti

@sambhavami

Stunner

+ 12

Posted: 8 years ago

After the class was over Mr. and Mrs. Sharma walked up to Mr. Lalwani who was packing up. Mr. Sharma tapped him gently on the shoulder. He had to retreat by a couple of steps as the teacher turned with a jounce. Evidently, the latter had not sensed their approach.

He grasped Mr. Sharma's hands but dropped them almost immediately and resumed his act of collecting his digital pens one by one and dropping them into his pencil box. The parents could sense his nervousness.

"I was wondering whether we could have a word." said Mrs. Sharma. Mr. Lalwani looked unsure but he said with a jerk of his head, "Of of course you can have it. A word, yes, you can have a word. Yes, a word."
Mr. Sharma said, "We had come here on the recommendation of Mr. Singh, the headmaster of Sunshine High School, which my child used to attend. It's- it's about our son; our only child, you know. He's a special child too. Our Doctor, Mr. Holkar says he shows the symptoms of Autism." The teacher nodded.

Mrs. Sharma continued in a voice barely audible, "I've read quite a bit since then. The clauses of reduced responsiveness and repetitive behaviour does definitely match. I've read that the understanding of the factors that may cause this- this disorder is yet incomplete and it has long been presumed that there is some common cause at the genetic, cognitive, and neural levels for the symptoms of autism. But Sir, have the vaccinations got anything to with this? My Aunt Shyamala was saying the other day-"

"Of course that is false Mrs. Sharma." said the teacher, "That is very much false. Vaccination has got nothing to do with Autism. I hope your son hasn't missed any of them owing to this misconception?"
"No, we couldn't take the risk, could we?" answered Mr. Sharma.
"Good," replied Mr. Lalwani. "Autism is a neural disorder that limits your child in just some walks of life; in others you will find he is not only equal to, but much more capable than other boys his age."

Mrs. Sharma smiled for the first time since the morning. Mr. Lalwani nodded his head in an odd way, as though he both understood and was perplexed by the change.

He smiled too, "I'm glad you decided to give your child the help he needs. I promise our institution will do everything in its power to keep your child happy while at the same time help him to overcome the few petty obstacles in his way. In fact I am proud of your courage. The fact that you did not try to hide him from the rest of the world; that you have accepted him the way he is, and are ready to help him thrive.

"Having gone through the same phase once, I can totally understand what your child might be going through, enduring the likes of, with due respect, your Aunt Shyamala. My parents understood my predicament, but they had lacked the courage to get proper medication. They were unsure of taking me to family gatherings, since I made few eye-contacts and spoke so less. They were also apprehensive of leaving me in a day-care or with a nanny. I had difficulties in expressing myself and they thought that I'd probably be neglected among the other, more expressive children.

"I'm not blaming them, for they have done enough. And I know the times are different, but I'm still proud of you, and I am sure your son will one day be someone we all will be proud of.

"Also I was lucky to never have had ASD in its more severe form and most people did not realize I was different unless I spoke. I would not be standing before you today, if not for the constant help and support of my teacher, Mr S. Arun."

Edited by Radhikerani - 8 years ago

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Maria

@x.titli.x

Stunner

+ 13

Posted: 8 years ago

Mrs Sharma was relieved. She was no longer scared of facing the harsh reality and she was determined to let everyone know that being autistic doesn't mean not being normal.

The day after her meeting with Mr Lalwani, she asked for an appointment with the Head of the Summer camp.

"Mr Singh, I came here for a request. I would like to present what is autism to your kids and our future generation", said Mrs Sharma.

"May I know who are you?" asked Mr Singh.

"My name is Mrs Sharma, I'm working as a nurse at the town's hospital. I have one child who might present the signs of autism."

"Mrs Sharma, I can completely understand your request but do you have all the papers that prove that your child may suffer from this disease?"

"Yes I have them, please have a look at the file."

Mr Singh examined the file and agreed to Mrs Sharma favour.

Mr Singh took her to the playground where all the kids were busy playing to various games.

"Dear kids, May I have your attention please?" asked the head.

All the kids came to him and were not sure about what was going on.

"My kids, today we're welcoming a guest. Please say hello to Mrs Sharma, who is going to tell you a story about a very special kid."

"Hello Madam", said the kids all together.

"Hello baachon (kids), today I'm coming to you all to tell you a story...

Ek Kahaani hai ek chota sa aur pyara sa bachaa ka (This is the story of a small and loving kid)

Jiske paas sab kuch hai, lekin phir bhi log kehte hai ke woh hum se alag hai (who has everything, yet everyone says that he's different from us)."

"Kyun (Why)?" asked Aashi.

"Kyun ki woh bhimaar hai (Because he's ill)."

"But everyone falls sick right madam?" asked Preet.

"But this sickness is not like other ones... It is something that we can't really see."

"Means?" Asked Priya.

"It means that you might not see this kid in a wheelchair or with some kind of bandage."

"Madam, is it something that comes from brain?" Asked Meher.

"Sort of. This is a kind of mental illness."

"Can the kid go to a normal school and have a normal life?" asked Pooja.

"It is really complicated but we can manage to make his life easier"

"Can he study?" asked Sameer.

"This kid has some talents but it is really complicated for him to concentrate in class."

"Can the teacher and pupils help him to complete his tasks?" asked Yuvraaj.

"Well, of course they can but they sometimes need an extra help."

"Not a doctor please !!! I'm scared of injections", shouted Aashi. All laughed at her cute reply.

"No don't worry, it doesn't have to be a doctor, it can be another person for example who can help the kid in his daily tasks."

"Can we play with him ? Won't he hurt me?" Asked Preet.

"Of course you can play with him, but you just need to be careful as most of the times he won't reply you in your expected way. People say that an autist, that's how we call them, doesn't show any emotions."

"But how is that possible, everyone has emotions ? Maybe he's showing them in a different way", replied Pooja.

"I agree", said Priya. "There are a lot of kids who are not showing their emotions or are bad with us but it's not the bachaa's (kid's) mistake right?"

"I think, we need to be friends with him, said Yuvraaj. Because he's not different, ok he's a bit different but is it a problem?"

"No ! Said Preet. It's actually woh kya kehte hai (what do we say) ... wohi (that)... Accepting difference or something like that."

Mrs Sharma and Mr Singh were stunned by hearing those replies. They would have never imagined that such young souls would be able to accept difference so easily. All were happy and Mrs Sharma would happily let his child go to Summer camp this year.

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MsChanadlerBong

@MsChanadlerBong

Rocker

+ 5

Posted: 8 years ago

Beautiful thread guys ! Great way of showing the disease from a different view . I can't help but admire as well as envy the RAD team every time their thread is up.

Ps gorgeous tags

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Swetha

@Swetha-Sai

Achiever

+ 48

Posted: 8 years ago

Beautiful thread by you, CC's! 😳

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MJ1009cc

@MJ_1009

Achiever

+ 7

Posted: 8 years ago

Amazing topic by the RAD team! A job well done!

Edited by _Meena_ - 8 years ago

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Subha

@Life_Is_Dutiful

Stunner

+ 40

Posted: 8 years ago

Very nice writeup.

Good job CCs.

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Deboleena

@OtakuGirl-Debo

Sparkler

+ 4

Posted: 8 years ago

awesome thread RAD team...👏👏

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Shree

@incorrigible

Dazzler

Posted: 8 years ago

#10

I was diagnosed with high functioning autism at the age of 21. I think the thread makers did a great job of capturing the essence of autism. It would be great if people were as open and accepting of autists as the characters in this thread were. Good job guys!

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Autism : The Winner’s Spectrum

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