Autism Awareness and HelpThe big jhappi podcast “Keep er lit” is back with yet another episode from our very own effervescent Ashuti Menon.
So, let’s say “The different journey but what the heck” ..
The big jhappi podcast “Keep er lit” is back with yet another episode from our very own effervescent Ashuti Menon.
Stress Management
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As parents, we all understand the unique stressors and challenges that come with raising children. To better support and understand one another, Ashuti has touched on the following points in her podcast.
1. The range of emotions you go through in your daily lives as parents, a constant expectation to be strong, or are there other emotions you commonly experience.
2. The need of support and understanding from those around you, such as family members, friends, neighbors, or schools.
3. Strategies that work.
Author Ashuti Menon
Author is a mother to an 18 year old young boy who was diagnosed with Aspergers not very long ago. She is an HR professional with a flair for creative writing as well.
Today’s podcast is by Ashuti Menon titled “The different journey but what the heck???“
Author Ashuti Menon
Author is a mother to an 18 year old young boy who was diagnosed with Aspergers not very long ago. She is an HR professional with a flair for creative writing as well.
Other stories by Ashuti “I was a Robot and other feelings“, “Guilty or not guilty“, “Friendship a rare gift of life“, A safe haven.
The first ten years of my son’s childhood were in Bangalore. We stayed close to his grand-parents (my in-laws). My parents were in another part of the country, but regular visits during holidays ensured he spent some time with them as well.
Since he was a baby, he was quite close with all his grand-parents, and especially with his paternal grand-father. His grand-father spoke to him about everything under the sun. He told him inspiring stories from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. My son used to listen to him for hours together.
As he grew up, he started hearing more about inspiring personalities, people who had succeeded in the world, despite their challenges. These stories stuck somewhere in his head. As he became an adolescent, his grand-father introduced him to the world of cricket. My son became an ardent fan, and that became another area for him to immerse himself in, besides academics.
The other grand-parents had a role to play as well. Cooking the food that he liked, bringing him small gifts that gelled with his interests, and appreciating his strengths with great enthusiasm were some of the things they did regularly.
With wisdom that probably comes with experience, they also accepted his differences in a loving manner. From their side, there was never any pressure on him to change. At that time, he hadn’t yet been diagnosed with ASD, so it would have been extremely easy to criticize the child. We parents did that at times, but the grand-parents, never ever.
When things became very rough for my son, and he had an Autistic burn-out at the age of 18,(that was the time he was diagnosed with ASD.), he was completely de-motivated. He could have just withered away.But I believe now that the roots were strong, and with a little bit of nurturing and attention, he found his motivation again.
For strong roots, children , neuro-typical or neuro-divergent need to connect with their grand-parents. For there’s no safer haven than that to grow. Wisdom, experience, bountiful love, acceptance, it’s all there.
Last but not the least, can we ever
under-estimate the intuitiveness of a grand-parent to deal with challenging situations…for where does intuitiveness come from after all? ….
It’s wisdom, experience and love that is woven together to form a deep connection..just like a protective shield around your child always!
Author Ashuti Menon
Author is a mother to an 18 year old young boy who was diagnosed with Aspergers not very long ago. She is an HR professional with a flair for creative writing as well.
Other stories by Ashuti “I was a Robot and other feelings”, “Guilty or not guilty” and “Friendship a rare gift of life”.
Creative representation depicting the grandfather’s house for this blog is done by Morpheus Nag.