Care4autism

Early education as put by Rabindranath Tagore should involve two main elements fun and joy. This education should comprise the use of all the five senses and not rote memorizing. In the natural order of learning, children are expected to learn through play where various domains including social, physical, intellectual, creative and emotional aspects are taken care of. That is where I think ABT or art based therapy steps in as it gives the child the freedom to do what he likes. It channelizes their creative energy. It is all about participation, parallel talking and fun. Ramam looks forward to his ABT sessions. In my opinion, in an academic session the child is merely taking instructions, while ABT lets the child participate. A little bit of circle time, dancing, painting gives the child a release from the monotony.  One of the most effective uses of art therapy is the ...

The aim of AIT is to help certain specific hearing problems, such as distortions, lack of selectivity, painful hearing, delay in response time, peaks of hypersensitive hearing, etc. AIT involves having subjects listen to electronically modified music through headphones. Each child participates in two half hour sessions per day, for 10 consecutive days. Follow ups were conductd three and six months after the therapy. The theories as to how AIT works, can be explained   a reduction in auditory peaks, a reduction in sound sensitivity, and an increase in attention as well as postulating changes in the middle ear, inner ear, brainstem, and mid-brain. Post treatment it has been reported that AIT has helped some children calm down, have better eye contact and social skills. The treatment has to last for 10days and this is mandatory. AIT does not guarantee improvement in patient undergoing treatment. Younger children in the age bracket 3-4 years are known to benefit more than a 10 yr old c...

There is a growing number of opportunities for adult autistics to seek employment. Sounds like music to one's ears.Some of the opportunities in Bangalore are NITHYA SAADHANA : The contact person is Mrs. Hema Nataraj, No.315,7th main, Vijayanagar, Bangalore-40 080-40907028,9663397673. hema_n1957@yahoo.co.in. The target trade/industries under consideration are Electronic assembly/repair Handicrafts Administration Data processing The target trainees include young adults with down's syndrome,border line MR,high functioning adult autistics in the age group 15-25. Area of work would be wire bunching and crimping, PCB stuffing,  Component formation.The training period would be anywhere between 6-9 months and the select ones with necessary skill set shall be further trained to be a trainer under the "Train the turner" program. AMBA : They work in tandem with schools and institutions that are already involved in the field of special education....

We have been very keen to try pet therapy out, but have failed,  having the courage to do so on number of occasions. The deterrents being  the lack of experience, space constraints, additional work load..... These are some of the common excuses, that we give. It has been established beyond doubt, that  animal therapy for autistic children provides the children with companionship, improves their socialization skills, reduces their tantrum levels and stereotypical behaviors, increases their verbal communication....Companionship is a major issue with our kids, so finding somebody accepting of them is very important. This is very true, in the sense many a times when Ramam is on his own,  I wish there was somebody to keep him company. At the least he could play and throw and catch. Autistic kids are known to take on maternal instincts when looking after a pet, feeding them, brushing them. Hopefully...

 It has been a desire for a long time of giving our autistic son something to keep him occupied. I have tried computer games. I could get him to use the mouse and also keyboard to some extent. He also loved the Zac Browser to browse the net. There remain some challenges here. He tends to mis handle the CDs / DVDs reducing their life span. He also tends to be repetitive, in that he will play the same level or same game over and over. Their are some CDs he has not let go for 7 years !! The music in them or certain animations give him some kind of excitement and he loves to repeat the same.  I have always wanted him to play some video games. Somehow he does not correlate the use of the arrow keys with the movement of the object on the screen. If only their could be a more intuitive input device. My previous post on the sixth sense technology was on visual clues. That will take a while to hit the markets. So when I heard of Wii by Nintendo, ...

This is a list of schools,  part of the  data bank we made before moving to Bangalore.  I do not much about the schools in the sense I have not visited them. Should any of you visit these centers’ /schools please give us  your feed back as other readers would also benefit.The list comprises of mainstream schhols supporting inclusive education and also activity centres offering various therapies.  I shall keep updating this list as I get more inputs. Integrated montessori "Around the Child”based at Vijayanagar. Sanjeevani Montessor i Jai Bharat nagar, the contact person is Kalyani Ganapathy 9886396693.  Premji Occupational therapy centre (Sumitra - 9980155414).  ABA  Suruchi Sancheti (9980135754). Winds o' Change run by Manjit Kochar. Her contact numbers are +91 80 41150897 Mobile: +91 98456 99451. Sai Foundation   , Hal second stage, near National Public school. This is a Montessori set up and the name of the principal is MS,Sha...

This was a Sunday with a difference. We,  along with other parents were on a mission to pledge our support for the cause of autism.  On Sundays, we are generally twiddling our thumbs wondering what to do.  6 th December was a Sunday well spent.  The highlights of the walk include ·          Flagging of the walk and release of the IRC  calendar by the governor of Karnataka. ·          Panel discussion by parents on various issues concerning autism. ·          An announcement by Mrs. Hema Nataraj, an experienced special educator and a parent at that, of the establishment of NITHYA SADHANA, a vocational initiative to provide young adults with Down syndrome, mild MR, and high functioning autistics an opportunity to work . This was extremely well received with a thunderous round of applause. Membership forms for a nominal amount of Rs.100 w...

This is a snack that is really crunchy, mouth watering and easy to make. Dosa batter 1 cup Jeera/cumin seeds 1 tbsp GFCF sooji 4 tbsp Soda 1/4 tsp Salt as per taste Oil to deep fry Take thick dosa batter add jeera,  sooji, salt and soda. Take the batter, make  small rounds by hand and deep fry in oil. One can have it with chutney . It is delicious  in  itself.  It is another story that,  I am yet to learn how to pronounce it. Also check my other GFCF snacks at  GFCF snacks .

There are various sections in the IT Act that provide deductions ranging from Rs 50000 to Rs 75000 under section 80DD. It requires a disability certificate to claim. I found this site which covers various forms and the benefits. I encourage you to read it. There are lot of queries raised and answered lucidly. Please see  Income Tax benefits for Autism .

The Govt of India has an insurance scheme aimed to  improve the lives of persons with Autism and other disabilities.   Niramaya is a health Insurance scheme for the welfare of persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation.and Multiple Disabilities. My understanding is it provides a cover of Rs 1 Lakh and the annual premium is in the range of Rs 100 or so. For persons below poverty line the premium is to be subsidized by the state/central govt. It is launched selectively only covering about 10 districts and will be monitored by the .National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation & Multiple Disabilities, a Statutory Body under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India. Currently I dont think its available across the country.  The scheme provides health cover, but I wonder for Autism, you need to give various therapies and with no clear approved line of medication / therapy. How can any ho...

The countdown begins, with 7 days to go for the autism awareness walk organised by the IRC.The event will be flagged off by the governor of karnataka, and will culminate at the planetarium.Please pledge your support to the cause of autism and the thousands of families whose lives have been changed for ever by autism. Make your presence felt on the 6th of December.For more information contact autismirc@gmail.co. The telephone number is 41203426. There are whole lot of activities planned for the day with lots of people voicing their concern over various issues dealing with autism.

Found this 'Today' board on Amazon. Looks good to help the child in selecting the details such as day of the week, weather, month, year etc. Good way to get started on a day and would also aid in the learning of Time concepts. We use a schedule board which outlines the daily activities and I must say it greatly reduces anxiety levels. I guess like all of us, he is better prepared on what to expect. Some days he however fusses at the chart, indicating his unhappiness over a particular aspect of the schedule. We then explain why he needs to go ahead with it and in cases of stiff resistance we try and take it off from the schedule and replace with something else. A Today chart along side may be beneficial. The small size of the cards will need to be taken care of else I am sure they will disappear quickly. Nevertheless, it should add great value.

When I started on the GFCF diet, this was one of my favourite google searches.I have always been worried as to what to send with him. One, Ramam had never carried any packed lunch.So to getting him started was tricky and I was never sure what could I send with him for a) it had to be filling b) something tangy as that is what he likes c) something that is easy to eat and carry, d) nutritious. So now, I have settled down to this standardised menu. Mondays -lemon rice, tuesday -tomato rice, wednesday-coconut sevai, thursday-onion-carrot rice, friday -it's rasam and a vegetable with plain rice. The vegetable is a bindhi fry,or an aloo preparation. I add groundnuts, cashews, chanadal liberally to these to make it crunchy. Sometimes,I thrown in a papad/ a packet of chips along with his lunch.

I have taken the vegan version from madhuram's eggless cooking .This one is for you Gina.I have tried egg replacers but it has not worked for me.Maybe I have yet to figure it out. Like when the recipe calls for 1 egg, then 1 tablespoon of egg substitute in warm water may work as well. Here the egg is just a binding agent. Recently,a recipe I read called for liquid egg replacer.I don't even know where to start looking for one. This receipe is as follows 1 cup orgran all purpose flour 1/2 cup oil 1tsp baking soda 18 dates 3/4th cup soymilk 3/4th cup sugar 1tbsp nuts microwave the seedless dates in soymilk for 1-2 minuteds and grind it.Add sugar and grind it to a paste Add 1 tbsp of the flour-baking soda mix to the date paste at a time and gradually mix.Add the nuts and mix. Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes.The cake turns out to be nice and moist.

Ragi is supposedly one of the easily digestible least allergenic grains available. It is a good source of proteins, calcium and iron. It is one of the reasons it is given to babies in a porridge form. It also has a cooling effect on the body. The good news is, it has laxative properties too.This morning Ramam pushed me harder to think RAGI, RAGI, RAGI. The deterrent with ragi is the colour, especially when you have had crisp brown dosas and white fluffy idlis. It is contraindicated in people with urinary calculi. The recipes are as follows Idlis Ragi (finger millet)-1 1/4 cup urad dal(black lentil) ¼ cup salt oil I have used whole urad dal. Soak urad dal in water for 2-3 hrs, ragi 15-20 min before mixing. The urad dal should be ground fine.Mix both the ragi and urud batter. Leave the batter overnight for fermentation. Make it in the same way as the regular idlis. They come out nice and soft. Dosas The same batter comes out well for dosa. It tasted the same as the one I had tri...

Any discussion on the resources of BAngalore for autism would be incomplete without the mention of irc.The contact person is Vani Nagaraj.I have spoken to her once or twice when we moved to Bangalore.She was very helpful.Given your location they are able to advise you on the choice of schools/therapists.Contact them at INFORMATION & RESOURCE CENTRE FOR Autism And Other developmental Disabilities #9, 1st cross, shankarapuram, Bangalore 560004 Contact Person: Vani nagaraj Phone: +91-80-41203426 E-mail: autismirc@gmail.com They offer numerous services. One of them is the training of caregivers called the SAHYOGI .It recently concluded the second batch of care givers.The caregivers are not therapist but are trained to handle an autistic child.This is something on the lines Merry Barua had done at AFA 6-7 yrs back. I do not if they still continue with this program.The irc has also provided some useful links on their website.

The information and resource centre (irc) and the rotary Bangalore west recently organized the program –Kalangana-2009 the art, music and dance festival for children with autism and other developmental disabilities on the 9th of November. The first Kalangana event was held in 2007. This year it was organized at the sri vidya vihara auditorium at Shankarapuram. The event drew 500 participants this year as compared to the meager 150 last year. One of the organizers Sumathi Ramjee, was telling me that there is something magical about the whole event. The children are so well behaved that it is hard to believe. Not a single child screams, shouts, no child runs around, it is incredible. It is the same story every year. Children about to the age of 18 are allowed to participate and win prizes. Those above 18 can participate but are not judged. The program includes drawing competition, solo and group dance competitions, solo and group music competitions ( both singing and instrumental).Here ...

This is a gluten free brand. I have just procured 1/2 kg sooji from them. Yet to try it out.It claims to be gluten,dairy, egg,yeast,sugar free......It is processed from whole sorghum grain.It is a New Zealand company but the product is manufactured in New Delhi.They have other products too, but thought will try to make upama with it and see how it will come out

Amaranth atta,( Rajgirah atta ) is something I have not used recently. It is one of the lesser talked about wheat substitutes. A reading of the nutritional values of this flour has made me rethink the value add it can do to baking. Once I had substituted gluten free oats with this atta in one of the recipes. It is an excellent source of high quality plant protein. It has more protein content than wheat. It has more iron, magnesium, and calcium content in comparison to other gluten free grains.It has a high fibre content too. It maybe used in a proportion of up to 25% in a gluten free blend.When used alone the baked goods can be very dense as it absorbs a lot of water.

Socializing with a GFCF menu can be tough. These are some steps one can take to reduce the hardships involved. Inform the host of the diet and there are can be one or two items that are GFCF. A fruit salad for dessert is a healthy option. Carry your own food, one main dish that is the child’s favorite which can be had with rice or is a meal in itself. Thirdly feed the child before you leave and inform the host that we shall be coming in a little late. We have tried all these alternatives and it has worked out for us. At the end of it one would like to take the child only where a) he would be comfortable b) one can take the liberty of telling the host the options before you. One host had made chicken preparations without curds, jaljeera for his drink, and some dal based crispies, for snacks. She had exclusively set aside some moongdal halwa made with oil for him. Wow! And we were really touched. Nobody minded the below fare either as they were not missing anything. There is no bet...

When I started out with PECS ,my mother was very apprehensive that it could impair his speech development.So are may people. My mother had her rationale to it.She felt if one makes it very easy to demand things with picture cards, why should he bother to talk?We have been assured over and over again by therapists whenever we use any aided communication,either verbal behaviour/ PECS, it doesn't stop him from talking. When you give a picture card for water,you stress on the word every time he demands for water.There are no substitutes for talking but these are crutches in some sense,it lowers the child's frustration and gives him an opportunity to communicate.

Yesterday when I had been to Oddessey,I saw Creatives (they make educational board games)had come out with a set of who,what,when,why set of questions .In a set of 27 flash cards under each topic and packaged separately I felt this could be another useful tool. For example,under the topic ,why, there were such questions such as why do we water plants.... They also have sets for sentence construction in 2 parts, a basic and an advanced. I went looking for these and found the questions set.

There was a painting competition organized by the society for children’s day. As I registered Ramam’s name and added he is a special child, the organizer was caught a little off guard, as they had not catered for this requirement. I then told the only purpose is to get him to participate. Anyway both the kids enjoyed the event and had a good time. The event made me think we are with the minorities for a change.

A massager can be a good buy depending on the child’s requirements. With Ramam we find it an effective way to keep him occupied for 15-20 minutes. He enjoys massage and sits quietly thru it. It is also a good time to talk to him as he is also listening to you at the same time.

The videos of karadi tales on the you tube are eminently watchable. One can also buy the CD’S along with the books. In voices of Naseeruddin Shah, Saeed Jaffrey,Sunjay Dutt, Vidya balan, these stories are presented very well. These are good fillers, especially when you don’t want to do 1-1 activities with the child.This is one of the videos we watched. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwzefwjiP2k&feature=SeriesPlayList&p=47B7DD1EA34527F7

A weather chart is a good tool for an autistic child especially when the child has sensory issues with clothing. Keeping in mind the prevailing weather condition one can draw a circular chart with the appropriate pictures for the weather conditions and the clothing that goes with it. Broadly divide the chart into sunny, cold, rainy, windy, foggy .A needle can be fixed to the centre and the child can be asked to indicate the weather .Another combination could be weather –calendar chart where the child can indicate the weather against the dates.

I have added an amazon store in the blog for autistic children. It has been a great learning experience. There is of course a great range of books, software to choose from . That apart, I was amazed at the range of GFCF products available.The purpose of this store is multifold. One is to generate the kind of interest and awareness of the range and depth of products available. Secondly,one can look for customized, localized versions of the toys and games.The potato head is an interesting toy which I used with Ramam when he was small.Anything and everything is being duplicated now.Thirdly, it gives you ideas as to how to look for tools that will help engage the child constructively,not just puzzles and blocks.It opens up a whole lot of options before you.Fourthly, if you feel I have missed out something that can be a valuable addition to the store, from your personal experience, please share it with the other readers.For example, I have still not added communication aids that are avail...

ASHA academy for severe handicaps and autism Earlier one of my readers had asked me which school Ramam goes to, after reading the post on Bangalore experience.He goes to ASHA. It is located in Basaweshwara nagar and is run by the dynamic Jaishree Ramesh.The teacher to student ratio is excellent. There is a lot of emphasis on visual learning.Written receipes for the cooking classes, use of schedule charts for the daily routines, social stories.The children are also taken on home visits and a monthly picnic.Two months back,they had been to the turf club and enjoyed horse riding.They have a yoga techer, speech therapist, music teacher,art therapist and an occupational therapist on board.The school timings are from 10-4.The special educator in each class is ably supported by the assistant teachers. IEPs with both short and long term goals are made. The school also had its sports meet in October.The school has a parents association.The school infrastructure is good. The schools stood ...

Official Google Blog: Project Spectrum: recognizing the talents of children with autism

This post has nothing to do with autism, but then there is life beyond it too!Just as an individual, I wanted to write this post from my perspective of things. Recently, I was waiting outside for Ramam to finish his therapy session. There was some construction activity going on. There was a 3 yr old girl playing there under the sharp eyes of her mother. Every time she is used to run towards the middle of the road, her mother would catch her and bring her back. The girl attempted to do it 3-4 times that I was waiting there. Having nothing to do I watched this mother –daughter duo intently .The girl was playing with a shovel and filling an empty bag with sand .Every time it was half full, she would go and empty it. You can give her play any name. (Please check my earlier post,learning thru play).I could not but help notice her eye hand coordination, the agility, the dexterity of her movements. She was having so much fun in the most natural way possible. No expensive fischer-price activ...

Physical play: This includes playing with blocks, running, jumping, catching, cycling, dancing. All these activities, help in boosting the child’s confidence and health. Creative play: This helps in expressing their feelings such as painting, molding clay, sewing, cutting. Exploratory play: Learning through one’s senses, finding things for one self, basically sensory exploration Imaginative play: Taking characters on to themselves and pretend play Social Play : Learning socially acceptable behavior, cooperative, parallel play, cooking…. Manipulative play : Use of rattles, activity centres, threading beads, dot to dot .Ramam likes these set of activities.

Looking at augmentative and alternative modes of communication for our children, I saw an exhibit recently. It mentions two forms: the unaided and aided forms of communication. The unaided modes include gestures, pointing, eye pointing, makaton and Indian sign system. Having done verbal behaviour for Ramam briefly in Delhi, I was familiar with Makaton. The Indian sign system is of course indianised with signs for dal, mithai……. The makaton as I was told uses a single hand while the Indian system uses both hands to sign for something. The aided forms of communication include the alphabet charts, pointer boards, where the pointer can be attached to the head or wrist based on the child’s level of difficulty and computer aids.

On a Sunday morning with time weighing heavily on our hands, skies overcast we are undecided as to how to spend the day. We decided to go for the book fest and it turned out to be a wonderful decision. Both the kids had a good time. Ramam flipped thru the pages in the book stalls, watched the video CDS’, taking his pick of the CD’s. There is a huge collection of books ranging from activities to stories. Name it and it is there. There is a standard 10% discount. We picked up a collection of the DK series, some story books. There is a stall by the Chandrasekhar institute of hearing as well. The National book trust has a stall. Some of the story books here are very good for picture description activities. There are some food stalls too, to complete the Sunday outing. I think it is open from the 6 th -13 th of November.

Located in Kariyanapalya, this institiute has been a great find. It boasts of an excellent reputation and lives up to one’s expectations. After the initial assessments are done, the psychologist decides on the therapies required by the child. The sessions are conducted by students doing the bachelor/masters program under the supervision of the staff. The interns from this institute work at various centers including schools and hospitals. They are very professional and the sessions are monitored by the staff thru a close circuit TV, and discussions with the therapist. They offer OT, behavioural intervention, and speech therapy. One pays upfront for 5 sessions, the fees are a nominal Rs 100 for a 45 min session.One can choose the time and number of visits. They work in two shifts 8.30-3.30 and 11-00-7.00. Foremost they understand autism and Dr. Pratibha Karant of comm.-deall is one of the members on the board. Again there is a unit of comm-deall functioning f...

Very recently Ramam painted our wall orange with his crayons! I was delighted. He had never done it for the last 9 years. Although a very inappropriate thing for him to do I was happy for some reason. I did give him solid advice,paper is for colouring blah blah.......Another mother was overjoyed when her son in PUC bunked classes and went for a movie and did not inform her.She came to know of it 10 days later. Yet another mother pulled up her son for not consistently performing well in his exams. The boy answered back "Do you cook well everyday".The mother said it was a revelation to her.These words coming from our children somehow make it endearing. Like one mother told me they are not just honest but brutally honest..These small anecdotes give us some reason to smile about.

These are the best cookies I have baked so far.Absolutely delicious. walnut cookies 2 cups all purpose flour. 1 cup sugar. 1 cup home made ghee. 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder. 1/2 cup walnuts. 1/2 cup almonds. est of one orange. 1 egg. 1/2 tsp salt. Coarsely powder the nuts leaving a few big pieces for better results.Beat togethe sugar and ghee.Add baking powder,flour,orange zest,egg,salt and mi well.Make small balls of dough. Bake at 375F for 10 min.Leave enough spacing between two balls od dough a they almost double in volume. The original recipe can be found in Aayi's receipes .com

I tried making kesari for Navarathri with sunira foods sooji. It did come out ok. Another option which I am yet to try out a mix of this sooji and raagi to make upama.I did read a recipe of this raagi-rawa upama some where.Plain raagi upama is not very interesting.

This is a major issue we all face as parents when handling a child with autism. From ayurveda to siddha, to homeopathy and even allopathy, we have tried some of these medications at some point of time.As with homeopaths we are expected to follow the doc's instructions in blind faith as most of them do not give prescriptions. Ayurveda and siddha seem safer options although one does hear of complaints of high heavy metal content in ayurvedic medicines.Recently a mother of an adolescent took her son for a review to a psychiatrist. He was on a minimum dose of the medicine for poor sleeping patterns, and aggresive behaviour.After a period of time the medicine 's effect had tapered off and her son's sleeping pattern had again began to waver.The psychiatrist offered to increase the dosage, which the mother didn't want to go in for. When we go with a persistent problem to the doctor, he is also left with little alternative, either to change the dosage or medication.In some c...

Technology plays a major role in the lives of our kids.More on this on my husband's blog http://techaids4autism.blogspot.com/ .Wishing all readers a very happy festive season.

Recently there was a PTA meeting at Ramam's school and as it coincided with the Teacher's day, there was a cultural program to liven up the proceedings. One of the students an autistic girl performed a solo admirably well to the song Mukund, mukunda. Everybody applauded and as the girl came and sat next to her mother, she asked the child did you forget a particular step.I thought the mother should have appreciated her performance rather than pointing out a fault that had otherwise gone unnoticed.In a span of few days, there was the sports meet and our hero was one of the partcipants in the sac race.To start with he was at a little disadvantage as he had a smaller sac.He took off to a flying start but lost hold of the sac ends midway.He fumbled but picked up the ends and continued the race to the finishline.Everybody appreciated his efforts at not giving up, and suggested a consolation prize.But the first thing I did was to ask him why did he let go of the sac.Later I felt sm...

A dream therapist The struggle against autism can never be complete without its share of therapists. Good, bad, ugly and some plain rotten. You can’t escape them. Over the years I can pride myself that I can smell a good therapist when I meet one. This again is a spectrum. Some trying to cash in on the problem, some genuine ones and then those that are the in -betweens. Rs.500 for a home visit is no less. I knew a therapist who took no less than 5 calls in a 45 minute session. She had given Ram am a paper and pen to make holes. Then there was one who lectured me for 8 sessions on the evolution of speech in human civilization. Yes, she was a speech therapist. What does then one begin to expect in a dream therapist * Bonding with the child, this will take few sessions. * Unobtrusive yet effective, you don’t want the therapist holding the child’s face and forcing him into looking into her eyes. * Being able to hold the child’s interest. * Having an element of...

For those of you who have seen Hrithik Roshan’ s Koi mil gaya there is a scene in which preity zinta’s mother offers him tea/coffee. He proudly states that he has had bournvita (yes, of course he is also endorsing the brand).Recently I had a friend of mine over, at my place. That is how he addresses me, and at that he is a very “special” friend of mine. I asked him what he would have to drink. He stated he just had milk. And at that instant of time this scene flashed across my mind, maybe the script directors borrow from real life. This friend of mine can comfortably have a conversation; go on his own independently from his place to mine. He is a gentle man to the tee. As my husband remarked, if Ramam reaches anywhere close to him when he grows up we should be very happy.

I decided to hang up my uniform and relocate to Bangalore. This should provide stability to Ramam's life which otherwise is subjected to continuous transfers. While they are getting adjusted to their new life, I thought i should chip in and add a few lines to the blog. A picture is better than a thousand words they say. And so .. thats it .. the journey of Mom and her son, student, companion, life :-)

This is about my little daughter Isha. The dynamics of our mother daughter relationship is changing all too fast. The other night she had gone to sleep and she woke up just to keep me company for dinner. I caught her reprimanding the maid for sweeping away Ramam’s line ups. She howled at another lady for shouting at Ramam. But that is where she draws the line. Her Barbies are strictly hers, amma is hers, and appa is Ramam’s. We talk about change affecting our kids, but I saw my daughter coping bravely with it. She was trying to get friendly with a gang of girls in the society we had moved in. She came back complaining that they were not sharing their toys with her. Then she turned around and “ordered” me to get her new toy. She immediately rushed back to her new friends and did a PR exercise that would have put marketing gurus to shame. She is fast becoming my best friend. She is very understanding of his problem and introduces him to her teachers and friends alike. She is the only fri...

The other day we were driving through one of the flyovers in Bengaluru when Ramam pointed to a poster of the film New York. I asked him if he liked the songs of New York. The next day again I elaborated that there is katrina, John Abhraham in the movie. The third day I just nodded acknowledgement. The fourth day something told me to look closer and I saw there was a small Ganesh under a tree beneath the poster. When I told him this, his face lit up with a big smile. This is what he had been trying to tell me from the day one. I felt a little ashamed. I was also happy he was trying to strike a conversation about something. This happened again one other time when we were driving past vidhan soudha and I pointed it to one of our guest. As the car took a u turn and came on the other side of the building he pointed it out to me and said vidhan. On another occasion, he wanted a particular spoon, to drop and play with it as he was enjoying the clatter it made. He typed out Spoon for soup. T...

1.        These were some of the messages that I took back home with me when I attended a workshop on adolescent issues. Some of the skills mentioned included typing, use of simple tools such as the nail cutter, stapler, messaging on the mobile, using the computer……. 2.        Independent functioning skills such as self help skills, cooking. When teaching the child to bathe insist on him cleaning his arm pits and private parts, as these add to general hygiene. 3.        Learning to use a public toilet all by themselves and be able to follow the different toilet signs. I had a very personal experience of this at NIMHANS  in Bangalore, when a mother with her grown up son walked into the ladies toilet and there was lot of hue and cry. It did strike me as odd that ladies should take such a strong objection to this more so in a place as this. Discourage the habit of undressing before going to the toilet right when they are young or else it becomes a major issue when using a public toile...

Ramam turned nine on saturday.He had a birthday party in his school. I had ordered a regular cake and baked a gfcf  one too.He wanted to cut the regular cake desperately, but when I told him I have baked the gfcf with so much love for you, there was no more hesitation on his part and he went ahead and cut both the cakes.After couple of mouths from his sister and me, I was a little anxious he might refuse to take from his head master.But surprise, he signalled him to wait, took a gulp of water from his bottle, which was close by and came back for more.This little act of his  put a smile on everybody's face.

                    This has been adapted from the TACA website. I have used 1 cup GFCF flour, 1/2 tsp gelatin, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 large eggs, 1/4 th cup rice milk. I have cut  an organic vanilla stick into fine pieces , and blended them in  with rice milk. You also need 1 cup extra virgin olive oil. Mix together olive oil, eggs and sugar. In a separate bowl take the dry ingredients, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. To the flour mixture add the milk-vanilla mix and the egg mix in an alternating manner. Mix till combined and bake. The cake is nice and soft.                      I also tried lemon curd and lychee sorbet.I have been thinking of a frosting for a long time and finally zeroed in on lemon curd. I tried it  with ghee but it  left such a strong flavor ...

When we were in Bangalore recently, our visits to NIMHANS and COMMDEALL taught us a great deal on the communication aspect. The guidelines given to us were based on our son’s age and ability. ·          TALK, Talk, Talk…………Talk as much as you can. For instance go beyond telling this is cricket and there are two teams. Go a step ahead tell him this is IPL, it is a 20-20 game, the match is telecast live….Otherwise his learning process would get very badly affected. The bottom line is to treat him as an older boy. ·          It is very important to teach our kids verbs and not just nouns. Flash card learning (pointing to the correct action words on the flash card) alone does not help. Generalize a lot. ·          Make him request, label things. ·          Play small games such as I name a fruit, you name one. Lets us label and point to all the objects, people in a given room or house. ·          Be very firm with a NO. Draw clear boundaries and communicate to him what is not per...

This recipe was far too simple to let it pass. So I thought I will give it a try. Take I cup of peanut butter, (I understand Kraft peanut butter is GF), 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 egg. Mix the ingredients, roll  them into a ball and press it with a fork. Bake at 180.c for 10 minutes. The cookies were soft, definitely not like the one Ramam likes. Hope I got them right.He likes them  crunchier.

All purpose GFCF flour-2 cups Baking soda-2 tsp Salt-11/2 tsp cinnamon-2 tsp Eggs-3 in number Vegetable oil- 1/2 cup Vanilla sugar-11/3 Golden raisins-1/2 cup cashewnuts-1/2 cup Mango diced-2 cups finely chopped /flaked coconut-1/4 cup                                                The big advantage of this cake is that the ingredients  are  easily available and it is easy to make. It tastes good. Mix salt, flour, soda and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Make a well and add the wet ingredients, nuts and mix well. Pour into the baking bowl and let it stand for 20 minutes. Bake for 3-4 min on high in the microwave.

A genetic clue as to why autism is more prevalent amongst boys than girls has been found. Here is the link  http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090520/hl_time/08599189975600 Life will be a lot easier if the actual cause is known.

Take poha or beaten rice. This is a preparation made in various parts of the country. Down south it is called Avil. Take avil, soak it in water for 10-15 minutes or the time you require to chop the vegetables for the upma. Drain the excess water off. Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds, ground nuts (optional), green chilies and  curry leaves. Add salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder. Add onions and sauté till they are golden brown. Add cooked cubes of potatoes. This  is again optional. Add the washed poha. Sprinkle some water, close and cook on a low flame for some time stirring it occasionally. Garnish with chopped coriander. Serve hot.

                        The procedure is the same as with  regular  wheat     pooris. I have used luke warm water while kneading it.

My husband has been on an overdrive ever since he has got back from Bangalore. He uses every cue, every opportunity to”talk” to Ramam. He talks to him about   everything,why we could not go to mandir on Saturday, why he came back late in the evening. He went a step further on Sunday. Just when he was going to close his ATM transaction, an idea hit him like a bolt from the blue. What better opportunity to teach Ramam how to use the ATM. I also nodded my head.   As he explained where to insert the card, punch in the PIN, the machine withdrew the money back .It happened right in front of our eyes. Then we realized the transaction had been timed out and the money debited to our account. We stood perplexed not knowing what to do. To our relief, the State Bank of Indore was adjacent to the ATM. We had been oblivious to this fact so long,  as we usually carry out our transactions at the HDFC ATM. Anyway, being a Sunday afternoon, we could not do anything much. Luckily a sole employee of the b...

I wish to thank all the readers for their words of encouragement and inputs. Here is another input byMeghana Raikar. This website offers online shopping of GFCF products. http://www.health-shoppe.com ,

This can be made with both raw rice and parboiled rice. Wash and dry the raw rice, powder it to a rava (coarse) consistency. Take 2 tablespoon cooking oil in kadai and season it with mustard, curry leaf, groundnuts (optional), urad dal, and red chilli. To this add water and let it boil. For every cup of rice, add 2 cups water. When the water begins to boil add the ground rice. Stir till it thickens. Take it off the stove and let it cool for 10 minutes. When the heat is bearable start making oval balls .Add some oil to your palms when making these balls. Place them on oil coated steel idly plates and steam cook. For parboiled rice, one can follow the same procedure, the difference being the rice is ground to a batter. The batter is then added to boiling water. When the colour of the batter changes from white to a muddy white and it thickens, switch off the stove. The kozhakkatais can be had with sambhar/chutney

We were in Bangalore last one month or so. Frankly speaking, our visit to Bangalore was an eye opener in many ways, helping us to get know the system better in terms of logistics, people, housing………..We decided to relocate to Bengaluru (must get the name right) for Ramam’s sake and I think the visit has convinced us the move is justified. Let me warn you in the beginning, this is a long post. Bangalore-- schools As for the schools we visited we first went to Bubbles run by Sarbani Mallick.  This is in Govindraj nagar. (9845557115). It is more of an activity centre where children go after school hours with more emphasis on social and play skills. This academic session, they plan to run a school. They focus on games that promote functional academics. It can be a starting point for early intervention from where the child can move on. The school timings would be 9.30-12.00 .The next were a group of schools on the Sarjapur road; Greenwood high, Inventure academy. It is a huge waste of...

I have been silent for quite some time on the blog for multitude of reasons. Gina Vijaykumar, one of the readers of this blog has been sharing some valuable information with me via e-mail. I thought I will put it up as a post as others would also get to benefit. There is a lab by the name Great Plains laboratory that does a lot of tests such as screening for allergens, heavy metal toxicity in US. We did one round of tests for Ramam when he was just about 2 years old. There is a lab now in Bangalore that does the testing. The details are as follows Food & Health Labs Pvt. Ltd  "Sukruth", #70, 4th Main, Domlur 2nd Stage Bangalore – 560 0071 Ph: 41263004 / 4126 3005,  Contact Person: Dr. Prashanth Kamath 09886041212, Dr. Rupali Kamath 09886279777  email:  foodhealthlabs@airtelmail.in   www.foodandhealthlabs.com The doc's name is Ananth Rao and he can be contacted at 9900956990.These tests are expensive and basic tests for food intolerances cost about 18,000 .The websi...

The last 10 days have been pretty rough on all 4 of us as I have been in and out of hospital, this beside the fact we are trying to relocate to Bangalore. There were a series of test that had to be performed on me to rule out some complications, one of the tests being the bone marrow biopsy. It is quite a painful procedure .Suddenly, I broke down in the middle of it, leaving the doctor worried and wondering if he should continue the procedure. In between all my crying, sniffing and blowing my nose, I told him the outcome of the procedure bothered me more, than the procedure itself. I realized my life is very valuable to me for my son’s sake than for my own. He was not independent in anyway, should something sinister turn up in the results, and I wondered what would happen to both my kids. There was a child with pneumonia, around 11 years in the same ward. His mother was also allowed to stay with him. Every night he would hug her and go to sleep. It made me think, that there would be so...

Our little boy has started to take lot of interest in cooking. He loves to add the masalas, stir the contents in the cauldron, help in chopping, and add the coriander leaves for garnishing. I get him to roll the rotis some times. He has a few favorite spices like pepper and oregano. He feels so strongly about these two spices, that he has to add it to all the dishes. The other day I caught him with a broken egg on the tava, with a spoon, salt and pepper, all ready for action. Only that he had not lighted the stove. I have my apprehensions about teaching him that, and I feel that can wait. He likes watching others cook and sometimes he watches a cookery show on TV. I hope this turns out to be a life long interest and not a flash in the pan.