Autism spectrum disorder, just another term from those hefty textbooks of psychology or a completely different way to look at life?
Autism is known to be a ‘spectrum’ disorder as it contains in itself a plethora of symptoms with various severity levels. The symptoms may range from being excessively anxious at new places to running around carefree in one’s house . From rising anxiety on being left alone to not even looking at their kin in the same room.
It’s a battle, a tough one, and fighting it are the parents of these little warriors who struggle every day to deal with the demons inside and out. The first fight is with the mindset and ideology of parents and society, understanding and accepting that ‘every child is different’ is easier said than done. Holding their hands in this challenging journey, are a bunch of enthusiasts at Geniuslane Child Development Center. Who work with determined hearts and put their heads in the right direction in order to help these genius minds attain new heights as well as building the parents from the inside. Focusing on parent’s mindsets is one of the core principles at Geniuslane. Working with the parents, supporting them, making them aware of the hurdles ahead and prepping them up for being there for their children. Families which become a part of geniuslane, have the extended support and guidance for the life ahead.
One such family is of Trish Singh, this five year old is the only child at home and the world to his parents. Native of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, Trish was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum at the age of 3 years. Since that day the lives of Singh's have changed in unexplainable terms.
At the age of 2.8 years Trish had delayed speech and kept babbling incoherent words; with constant humming also came hyperactive behavior where Trish would jump from one furniture to another all day. These were just the tip of the iceberg, which alarmed the parents to talk to Trish’s pediatrician, at the age of two, who warded off the issue saying, such behavior was nothing to be worried about as its okay for children to behave this way.
Lack of knowledge and unclear direction from multiple pediatricians and child specialists lead to Trish being wrongly diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). During this course of wrong diagnosis and lack of clarity regarding the disorder, Trish was kept on regular dosage of Multivitamins and rigorous efforts to tame him down.
Problems persisted as the bogus medications and activities failed to provide relief in any terms.
After losing another few months of the child’s early age, parents got reference of Dr. Rahul Bharat, where Trish was diagnosed of Autism Spectrum disorder, at the age of three years, after conduction of International diagnostic tool for diagnosis of Autism (ADI-R).
Parents had a hard time accepting the diagnosis as Autism came as more of a shock to the parents. Mental health issues in India are looked down upon by the society at large, owing to wrong and partial knowledge of the disorder, facing the society with pointy fingers and zero comfort comes as a challenge in front of parents.
Unlike their previous experiences, the first step towards treatment of Trish was, education of the parents. Making parents aware of the disorder in and out, making clear of what can they expect from their child and what does normal mean, was an important step and acted as a cushion back for parents to support them through their emotional turmoil. While parents were getting acquainted with the disorder, Trish was enrolled in a program where the aim to his treatment was not symptomatic relief but working on core factors which contribute to long-term disability in Autism.
Holding Trish by the hand with love and warmth and supporting him from all sides, the treatment aimed at helping Trish in different areas of skill sets and at making home a place where the child would connect with his parents and share that unbreakable bond. Guiding parents taking little steps from setting the daily routine of Trish to how to play with him, every little help was given to make the precious time of Trish count.
The process of trying to help the child brought some major changes in Singh's as a family too, they grew as individuals, became patient in their approach to life and in the course of the treatment at Geniuslane, parents experienced stability in them.
While the child improved in multiple aspects over the course of treatment from speaking clear words , able to communicate and express, Trish developed an understanding of remarkable levels.
Geniuslane has played its role now, at the age of five years Trish is ready to bid goodbye and head to a new start. The world ahead is full of challenges and hurdles and Trish is still learning and working on brushing his special skills. Along With Trish, parents have also gained profound trust and understanding of their child.
This is definitely not an end but a start towards an entirely different path and the added levels of satisfaction is the thing that would keep them going and growing.
- by Ms. Garima Sawlani