SUNDAY PICNIC
When a friend suggested that all of us should get together for some old style picnic with family and kids, the first thing that came to my mind was that it will be a fantastic exposure for Avani. I agreed instantly. Luckily, Yappy was back in town on the chosen Sunday and there was no reason why I should deny this opportunity.
So despite a strong breeze on a cold Sunday morning, we headed towards Lodhi Garden with 'socialisation' on our agenda. The three of us reached sharp on time with none of the other families even anywhere close to the venue. We reached at least an hour before others joined. I thought it's good in a way, as it will give us time to adjust Avu to the limitless surroundings of a public park.
As soon as we spotted a place to lay down our mat...Avani was allowed to roam around and explore. My biggest worry was that she will be running aimlessly and not listen to commands. But it turned out that there's another issue. The issue of not knowing what's ours and what's not. Just like us, there were many other families out on a picnic. Avani spotted a family that was busy munching on some bread and snacks...went straight to their camp and tried grabbing the bread! Wooh!!! Thankfully, Yappy is better at running as of now...he grabbed her before she could grab the bread and brought her back to our mat.
But we clearly had a situation at hand and about an hour to kill before our friends turned up! Avani is clearly not the one to give up easily. She tried and cried over the attractive food in others' camps. Things were not looking good for us.
We took Avu for a walk around the park. At one point, she managed to grab a piece of a school boy's roti from his tiffin. We thought she might be hungry and gave her food from 'our' stock. Obviously, this was not going to help. We spotted a place that didn't have too many people around and decided to base ourselves there. Avu started to explore again. No issues till more families started coming. Our friends joined us too in the mean time. We opened our food and snacks, I tried bribing Avani with some apple juice so that she sits in one place. The trick didn't work for very long.
While the kids of our friends were busy playing around football and cricket, my child was not even interested in looking at them. We tried to involve her in a bit of catch and throw but sorry, no interest. She spotted a cycle in another camp and would insist on standing on it. The task of controlling and explaining was getting a little too much. I picked up Avu and stood at a distance watching other kids. The feeling of 'why me' once again overwhelmed me. I gathered myself, told Yappy, we've tried enough and its better to make a move. Left Lodhi Garden within two hours that felt like an eternity!
BIRTHDAY PARTY
Just like Avu, I am also not the one to give up easily. We had a birthday party invite in evening. This was another opportunity to 'socialise'. Again I took up the challenge. But the best part is, this was a birthday party of another autistic child. At least we were not expecting anyone to judge our child for her behaviour here. And guess what! Surprise!
Avani is absolutely fine. We spot a table with wall on one side. She stands on her chair all through and happily licks on some tomato sauce, while we chat with another set of parents and finish our dinner. A good hour and a half of outing later, Avani wanted to explore McDonalds, but it was time to wrap up the party too. We happily marched back home and this time a lot relieved.
But no matter how tortured we feel as parents from these outings, there is absolutely no other way to understand our child's current standing. Unless we expose Avani to such situations, how are we going to know what are the problems? So now the task is set for coming days. My priority is to teach her how to respect what is others' and be satisfied with what is ours'. Any suggestions/advice/tricks/therapies are always welcome.
When a friend suggested that all of us should get together for some old style picnic with family and kids, the first thing that came to my mind was that it will be a fantastic exposure for Avani. I agreed instantly. Luckily, Yappy was back in town on the chosen Sunday and there was no reason why I should deny this opportunity.
So despite a strong breeze on a cold Sunday morning, we headed towards Lodhi Garden with 'socialisation' on our agenda. The three of us reached sharp on time with none of the other families even anywhere close to the venue. We reached at least an hour before others joined. I thought it's good in a way, as it will give us time to adjust Avu to the limitless surroundings of a public park.
As soon as we spotted a place to lay down our mat...Avani was allowed to roam around and explore. My biggest worry was that she will be running aimlessly and not listen to commands. But it turned out that there's another issue. The issue of not knowing what's ours and what's not. Just like us, there were many other families out on a picnic. Avani spotted a family that was busy munching on some bread and snacks...went straight to their camp and tried grabbing the bread! Wooh!!! Thankfully, Yappy is better at running as of now...he grabbed her before she could grab the bread and brought her back to our mat.
But we clearly had a situation at hand and about an hour to kill before our friends turned up! Avani is clearly not the one to give up easily. She tried and cried over the attractive food in others' camps. Things were not looking good for us.
We took Avu for a walk around the park. At one point, she managed to grab a piece of a school boy's roti from his tiffin. We thought she might be hungry and gave her food from 'our' stock. Obviously, this was not going to help. We spotted a place that didn't have too many people around and decided to base ourselves there. Avu started to explore again. No issues till more families started coming. Our friends joined us too in the mean time. We opened our food and snacks, I tried bribing Avani with some apple juice so that she sits in one place. The trick didn't work for very long.
While the kids of our friends were busy playing around football and cricket, my child was not even interested in looking at them. We tried to involve her in a bit of catch and throw but sorry, no interest. She spotted a cycle in another camp and would insist on standing on it. The task of controlling and explaining was getting a little too much. I picked up Avu and stood at a distance watching other kids. The feeling of 'why me' once again overwhelmed me. I gathered myself, told Yappy, we've tried enough and its better to make a move. Left Lodhi Garden within two hours that felt like an eternity!
BIRTHDAY PARTY
Just like Avu, I am also not the one to give up easily. We had a birthday party invite in evening. This was another opportunity to 'socialise'. Again I took up the challenge. But the best part is, this was a birthday party of another autistic child. At least we were not expecting anyone to judge our child for her behaviour here. And guess what! Surprise!
Avani is absolutely fine. We spot a table with wall on one side. She stands on her chair all through and happily licks on some tomato sauce, while we chat with another set of parents and finish our dinner. A good hour and a half of outing later, Avani wanted to explore McDonalds, but it was time to wrap up the party too. We happily marched back home and this time a lot relieved.
But no matter how tortured we feel as parents from these outings, there is absolutely no other way to understand our child's current standing. Unless we expose Avani to such situations, how are we going to know what are the problems? So now the task is set for coming days. My priority is to teach her how to respect what is others' and be satisfied with what is ours'. Any suggestions/advice/tricks/therapies are always welcome.
Thanks for sharing more experiences. The Lodhi Garden drive certianly a challenge but in a way we grown ups too need to learn what is ours and have satisfaction levels. Avani is young, she will learn it quickly. As a parent you will have to keep more patience, be more stronger and yes Avani will be a perfect daughter.
ReplyDeleteKeep going, will try and share some points which can help you & Avani