Care4autism

   Manu Sekar, CEO of Hask Hack Code, believes anyone can do computer coding. He set out to achieve what he deeply believes in—breaking down barriers for both the neurodiverse population and the marginalised community as a whole. Read on to know more about HashHackCode. Can you tell us about your journey from an entrepreneur to a social entrepreneur?                           I did my graduation abroad. After coming back to India, I started my company. It amazed me at how one could start something with just a laptop and internet connection. I realised that there were two things important to my success, one being my English language skills and then, of course, programming. Irrespective of one’s background, I would like everyone to gain this skill set of coding.                            Even with my first company; we were hiring people from diverse backgrounds. We trained girls from marginalised backgrounds in programming and hired them. Eventually, we got good at explaining coding to

  Understanding Cognitive Diversity   This post on Cognitive Diversity is , an effort to understand cognitive diversity better, based on my reading.  Peace is not unity in similarity, but unity in diversity, in the comparison and conciliation of difference- Mikhail Gorbachev 1) Why the need for diversity? If the environment changes, as it does, a species has a considerably increased chance of survival if it has a diversity of traits. Evolutionary adaptation cannot happen if everyone looks, acts, and thinks the same? Unity is not uniformity. Importantly, you can’t have selection without variation. Diversity is about recognizing that every person is a rich tapestry woven together from multiple threads.      What really matters aren’t visible differences between people but their unique perspectives on the world–call it “Diversity of thought.” Cognitive diversity means including a variety of people with different thought patterns, ideas, problem-solving methods, and mental perspectives.  F

  The Autism Label Parents dread an autism label because of the stigma associated with a disability.  Before my son was diagnosed, there was always a concern about knowing something was not ok, but not being able to figure out what it was. Being first-time parents didn't help much, either. The reason I write this post is many parents remain in denial, not realizing the label is a pointer to the services and help they should seek for the child. Until, up to that point, you are battling an unknown, and the fear of the unknown can be worrisome.    How you approach a diagnosis of autism also makes a huge difference. Once you have a diagnosis, parents with intention, effort and discipline can jujitsu with autism. A label gives you the understanding to process what's happening with the child in terms of sensory, cognitive, physical challenges and take suitable measures. First, a label can help you take positive action. Being cognizant of the facts is winning half the battle.

        For Anjana, learning is a continuous process. Talking about her college days, she says, back then, the word neurodiversity meant little to her. But now she looks at things differently. She strongly advocates a neurodiversity affirming practice. Professionals, like her, who are curious and empathetic, add great value to the families they work with. Anjana is an SLP, based out of Bengaluru. Having studied at All India Institute of Speech & Hearing, Mysore, she firmly believes in multi-modal communication and the power of AAC.                                 Anjana is also working with a team to build Subodha, into an institution working towards the vision of ‘making communication accessible for all’. How would you do you define as your role as an SLP? By profession, we must work on communication, speech, an d language. This is our forte. For me, it is both an obligation and a privilege. Communication is a basic human right. We built all other skills on it, a

    Spaced Repetition If one thinks of our brain as a muscle—each repetition is a "flex" of that muscle. Over a period of time, you are slowly pushing the muscle steadily with a more challenging task . One can also gradually increase the intervals between repetitions, once the skill is learned.             The practice of mugging formulas, which we detested in school, was a necessity. One will not derive the formula every time to work on a problem. After a point, it becomes second nature to use the right formula for a problem.                              Same with our kids. Teaching by small incremental steps and practicing each step frequently until the knowledge becomes automatic. Be it recall, communication, skills, practical applications; spaced repetitions, works.  Came across this interesting visual.