Fostering a connection
We worked with a child in 2022, when he was a 4-year old. He was diagnosed with Autism and he was not speaking at that time.
The child did not lift his hand to reach out for any toy, arousal levels being low. We decided to engage him through multiple activities - sensory, visual, auditory etc. We started him on Avaz to establish a communication channel. His mother took parent training from Sambhavam and took leave.
The mother and child came back to us in June 2024. The mother was finding his screaming, crying and aggression difficult to manage.
What we saw was a distressed child who wanted to be heard. We saw he needed space and a sense of control.
Generally, he liked to just roam around. We waited till he chose to come sit in the chair, ready to engage.
Next, we created a predictable structure for what we would do when he comes and sits. He had to fix a single piece of a puzzle and then he could take a break. He could take a prompt if he wanted. We would not step in without his initiative.
We experienced slight success. He calmed down. He started to come to the table and did some activities. However, the episodes of distress continued. When distressed, he would throw away work materials and toys.
The usual practice of trying to block the throwing behaviour was not suitable as he did not like us touching him. So we thought of a replacement activity - he could throw paper balls into a tub. We also started a social story aimed at letting him learn how, where and when he could throw things.
Initially, he was very unhappy as he could not throw the work materials like he wanted but slowly he started to engage in the paper ball throwing in a neutral mood.
Meanwhile, therapists interacting with him discovered he started to enjoy songs and conversations. They started having casual conversations with him using Avaz. They also engaged through songs - he would hum a tune and they would sing the song. This made him happy beyond bounds.
We like to think this happiness comes from being heard, understood, respected and reciprocated.
Such are the pleasures of fostering a connection and facilitating learning!
Please note that these interventions are shared for general guidance. Designing and executing interventions - more importantly - noticing how the child responds and modifying the interventions so the child does not get distressed, is a specialist job. Consult qualified therapists as necessary.
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