Tag: learning

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“Tanisha’s Palette: The Beautiful Mess of Emotions in Learning”



Picture this – Yesterday, I was with my daughter Tanisha, showing her a new way to paint. Her eyes lit up as she held her paintbrush, ready to try something new. She was excited about this new way of painting, but she was also very scared. Trying something new can be really scary sometimes!

Isn’t it something to see a person feel scared and excited at the same time when they’re learning something new? Seeing Tanisha react this way shows just how mixed up our feelings can get, especially when we’re trying something we’ve never done before.

My child, Tanisha, is an abstract art painter, and we often get asked, “What is abstract art?” It can be challenging to explain, but Tanisha has a special way of expressing her creativity through colors and shapes.

For Tanisha, abstract art is about capturing emotions and experiences in a way that words cannot convey. It’s a way of bringing emotions to life on the canvas.

When she paints, Tanisha starts with no plan, letting her intuition guide her as she explores different colors and textures. It’s a bit like a game of discovery!

As she paints, patterns and connections begin to emerge, and Tanisha builds on those, layering and refining until the painting takes on a life of its own. Each brush stroke reveals something new and unexpected.

That’s the beauty of abstract art – it’s a way of expressing oneself in a unique and personal way. It’s a language of the soul that invites the viewer to bring their own experiences and emotions to the painting.
Abstract art allows Tanisha to explore the world through color and imagination, and share that beauty with others.


So, coming back to learning, learning something new can make you feel really happy and really scared at the same time. This is especially true when you’re doing something you’re not used to. Sometimes, we get scared because we don’t know what will happen, we’re worried about making mistakes, or we’re scared we won’t do well. For people like Tanisha, these feelings can be really strong. Some people love trying new things, but others find it hard to control their feelings. It’s so important to help and understand people like Tanisha, showing them how to handle being scared in a good way.

As I watched Tanisha try this new painting method, I saw how the strong feelings made her react. She loved the new painting method and was excited about her painting, but she was also really scared because she felt pressure to do well and was unsure about trying something new.

Tanisha does her best when she’s in a safe and comforting place. It’s also really important to let her know that it’s okay to make mistakes when learning something new. I hope that Tanisha will learn to enjoy the fun of trying new things while also handling the fear that comes with it. With time, practice, and lots of support, she might even get better at handling new things with courage and happiness.

Whether a person has autism or not, we all get scared. I hope more people will understand and talk about this. Let’s make a world that understands and supports everyone. By talking openly and spreading awareness, we can make a space where people aren’t ashamed of being scared, but are supported and helped.

#learning #art #share #creativity

Author Juhi Saxena

Creative representation for this blog is done by our extremely talented CreativeSaathi Tanisha Saxena

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How to remove learning protectors in children


If, despite constant efforts, your child repeats the same mistakes over and over again during his studies, it is not advisable to reprimand the child negligently. He may suffer from discrimination learning problem. Here’s what Disorder has to learn.

What is the reason?

Learning in children can be due to a number of reasons, some of which are as follows:

1. If a parent or close blood relative has this problem, the child may also have learning disabilities.

2. Sometimes problems can arise due to disturbances in the structure of the brain or nervous system like neurological causes.

3. A child may also suffer from a head injury or injury during birth.

Treat symptoms

1. A child with this disorder is recognized only when he begins to read and write.

Children with this problem often fail to recognize and write letters or numbers and read down backwards. For example, such children sometimes write their copy, T or T to 3A B to D, P to Q or P. Parents do not take such mistakes seriously initially. But when the child repeats the same mistake again, it is important to understand that there is a problem with the child’s decision to learn.

3. If such children are known, the spell goes back and forth. Such children sometimes write + instead of +.

4. While reading, the child sometimes skips whole lines or misses some words or letters when writing from a book.

5. It is not necessary that a child is emotionally red-handed with this problem.

6. Such children feel a lack of confidence in people.

7. Such children face various pressures at home and school. So their anger is more. Often such children become stressed, depressed and irritable.

8. If a child makes more mistakes in writing or math, it does not mean that such children always suffer from learning disorders. Many times children can make such mistakes due to poor eyesight, hearing difficulties, negligence of parents and teachers.

Even if the above symptoms appear in the child, you should not assume that the child is suffering from a learning disability without conducting a mental test.

How-to guide

1. Raising such a child requires a lot of patience. Learning should be made by frequent mistakes.

2. Never compare your child with other children. There will be a feeling of inferiority.

3. Keep meeting with your child’s teacher to make them aware of the problem so that they are not subjected to unnecessary scolding or humiliation.

4. Get new information about new teaching techniques and methods of teaching such children through books or internet.

5. Sometimes such children are weak in research but need some creative talent. If your child has a special ability, encourage him to move forward.

If parents and teachers are properly guided while being aware of the child’s intellectual development from the beginning, children with this problem can lead a normal life.

Sradhanjali Dasgupta

Consultant Psychologist, Speaker , Learning Developmental Coach, Teacher and trainer Miss. Sradhanjali Dasgupta has been extensively working in the field of Counselling and education for the past few years in several Clinics, Hospitals, NGOs and educational sectors. She also contributes her writings and blogs in various newspapers, magazines and e- magazines Her training and workshops are both for the corporate as well as for the educational sector and are geared up for learning and development,upgradation and capacity building. She have actively taken part in many debates

Artwork by CreativeSaathi associate
Morpheus Nag

Creative representation for this blog is done by our extremely talented CreativeSaathi associate Morpheus Nag.

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Practice the Four Patterns of Interactions

Lessons from Relationship Development Intervention – 2

In my previous post, I discussed experience sharing as one of key takeaways from Relationship Development Intervention (RDI). See my post here. The question is:

How can we get started with experience sharing?

The four patterns of interactions and Regulation, Challenge, Reorganization (RCR) are the tools for organizing experiences and fostering experience-sharing communication. First, the child/learner must be able to participate with the parent/guide in experiences before experience sharing can happen! This article describes the four patterns of interaction and RCR.

Practice the Four Patterns of Interactions

The four patterns of interactions are based on RDI (Relationship Development Intervention). Read the article Building the Foundation and Pillars for Success in Academics by Kamini Lakhani here. According to Kamini Lakhani, parents can work on their child’s emotional regulation by working on these 4 patterns of interactions.

a. Assembly line (sender receiver pattern)

b. Reciprocal (parent and child take turns to repeat the same role)

c. Simultaneous (parent and child have the same role and they perform it together, at the same time)

d. Contingent (parent and child have different roles. Their roles are dependent on the other (contingency).

The patterns seem simple and obvious. However, being mindful of these patterns helps organize interactions in a consistent way with your child.

In the video below, a simultaneous pattern of interaction is being used. This pattern is a common pattern for teaching through imitation. Rather than instructing and prompting the child to do activities, parents can use this pattern and do activities with their child.

Use the Four Patterns of Interactions to Implement Regulation, Challenge, Reorganization

The four patterns of activities discussed above are based on RCR (Regulation, Challenge, Reorganization). RCR is one of the most valuable parenting concepts that I learned from Relationship Development Intervention (RDI). The parent sets up a pattern of interaction with competent roles for parent and child. The key is to set up a predictable pattern the child can recognize so that the child is regulated in the activity. Once the child is familiar with the pattern, introduce variations or challenges. Add the variations gradually to enable the child to accept the variations and reorganize the initial pattern of interaction. Practice the basic pattern for many days before introducing variations. Use the four simple patterns of interactions to implement RCR in daily life activities.

  1. Watch a video of the sender/ receiver pattern of interactions

Just Noticeable Differences

2. Listen to the explanation of Just Noticeable Differences (JND) on Dr. Sheely’s podcast:

Key Point from Podcast

According to Dr. Sheely, “competence is built off of a series of these just noticeable differences that are then punctuated with the challenge, and the challenge is something that is not just noticeable difference, but something that challenges you to use your mind, because you don’t know what to do.

My thoughts

JNDs prepare you for dealing with challenges. RCR with JNDs is a technique for systematic training for engaging variability and builds capacity for handling larger changes over time. Since autistic children often resist change (see Dr. Gutstein’s podcast on Variability), RCR and JND are tools for parents to integrate predictability and variability in experiences. JND is a way to introduce novelty with low stress.

After diagnosis, parents are focused on challenges such as speech delays, sensori-motor issues etc. RDI changed our trajectory. We started focusing on variability and dynamic thinking as the foundation. Integrating predictability and variation in experiences sets the stage for practicing communication.

RCR Examples

  • After shopping, put things from bags into cupboards and/or the refrigerator. The child picks up and hands the item and the parent puts it away.
  • Child picks up and gives an item of clothing to the parent. Parent hangs it up.
  • Parent and child walk together. Initially, follow the same route at the same time of day. Slowly, introduce variations. The parent stops suddenly. The parent starts walking forward or backward. The child notices these variations and responds to them. For example, when the parent stops, the child stops.
  • The Parent and child roll a ball together. Each person has their own ball.
  • The parent and child paint on a large sheet of paper. Each person chooses one color and paints somewhere on the paper.
  • Practice the patterns of interactions with games like crocodile dentist and Twister.

When the child is doing well in the interaction, the parent makes little variations to the pattern to make it slightly more unpredictable, but not overwhelming.

When I first learned about RCR, I found it useful but did not realize that we had discovered an important tool for life. As I have learned more about managing stress and creating the conditions for learning with ease, I have started seeing RCR as one of the most important tools in parenting neurodivergent children.

Practice the four patterns of interactions in a mindful way and join the conversation in our LIFESMART Parenting group here!

Creative representation for this blog is done by our talented CreativeSaathi associate Morpheus Nag.

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Step by step techniques to teach photography to our kids

A video blog by Pinki Kumar on how to teach capturing pictures from camera and teach photography to our kids on Autism spectrum.

Author Pinki Kumar

Pinki is a special educator, play therapist and a mother of a neurodivergent kid. She has a YouTube channel Play and learn to teach different methods and strategies. These videos are a great resource for the parents to help their child learn various skills.

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Resources

How to introduce Alphabets

A video tutorial by Pinki Kumar on teaching methods of how to introduce alphabets to our kids. Play and learn by Pinki Kumar.

Author Pinki Kumar

Pinki is a special educator, play therapist and a mother of a neurodivergent kid. She has a YouTube channel Play and learn to teach different methods and strategies. These videos are a great resource for the parents to help their child learn various skills.