03/11/2019
From the diary of our well wisher and friend, Shreya.
“Touch, Stand and Peel”
shreyanaik18 Autism, Dussera October 17, 2019 4 Minutes
( The theme of the write-up is to highlight how Bubbles centre for Autism utilised the occasion of festivals to include everyone and to improve the social skills of those on the Autism Spectrum. It covers various themes of the skits performed. The concluding paragraphs talk about methods to include and improve the lives of people with Autism)
Keeping up with the tradition, every year ‘Bubbles Centre of Autism’ and ‘Pragati Towards Livelihood’ team up to celebrate the essence of myriad festivals…Each festival teaches us a great deal about our history, traditions, ethics and most importantly it brings people together. What better way to bring kids and adults together, than with an exuberant celebration of the festivals! With considerable amount of preparation and training, the participants learn to organize themselves and showcase their talents. Learning about the different themes of the festivals through skits and visual displays help children and adults with Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) which helps improve the ability to adapt thoughts and process situations flexibly and improve the quality of life of people with Autism. And let’s not forget the fun! This year I was fortunate enough to be a part of the Eid and Dussera celebrations. Honestly, I had no inkling that it was going to be such a cultural bonanza. The elaborate palette of differently themed plays and performances on display was the kind of experience not one person in the audience would forget and fail to share!
The themes for Dussera were tied to social causes for awareness. Each head of the Ravana effigy depicted a subject which would be revealed as each play unfurled. The ten causes as many as the ten heads of Ravan touched upon and enacted by the kids were child labour, importance of education, corruption and its dire consequences on human life and safety, child marriage, inclusion and humanity, respect for the other gender, tree preservation, obeying of traffic rules, water preservation, taking up Swachh Bharat for cleanliness. The themes emphasized how each one of us are setting an example for those around us to follow thus making the world a better, more inclusive, loving and harmonious place to live in for the present and the future generations, GEN Y and GEN Z! Along with teachers, family members participated too adding colour to the preparations, performances and arts and crafts. Different styles of Dussera celebrations from the North, South, East and West were re-created bringing back fond childhood memories. My favourite bits, owing to my Bengali and Gujarati cultural affiliations, was when the stage came alive with the depiction of a Durga Puja pandal and when the kids erupted with joy dancing to Garba and Dandiya as part of the Eastern and Western depictions respectively. The mellifluous notes of five traditional dances blended with the beats of drums and conch presenting a soul soothing medley of music. The five types of traditional dances of the South were Tiger dance (convivial dance with exaggerated gestures wearing leopard masks), Kolata (stick dance), Kamsale (Kamsale is a brass made musical instrument), Nandi kolu(involves vigorous dancing with huge decorative poles), Dollu kunita (involves rhythmic singing and drums). The props and costumes for the folk dances were both intricate and flamboyant. Also, enacted was the traditional Mysuru procession which involved carrying Golu ( tiny dolls and figurines) celebrating the victory of good over evil. The flavours of the East were brought alive by a delightful rendering of Agomoni (Bengali folk song). This was followed by a live pageant where women walked the ramp in their beautiful sarees with sindoor coloured borders and performed Dhak dance, a smoky intoxicating waltz where women twirl to the sound of drums holding flared earthenware incense burners. The swirling dervish with the billowing smoke and smells was both invigorating and mesmerizing in equal measures. The elaborate show of over two and a half hours of performances concluded with a speech given by the Chief Guest, Mr. Deepak Prabhu (CSR Head at Cognizant) and followed by a palette tickling buffet specific to the themes of the festivals.
The preparation and performances pressed on many of social skills very crucial for kids and adults on the Autism Spectrum. Within the social-cognitive domain, three processes are particularly important in social functioning: knowledge, perspectives, and self-awareness. Individuals with ASD often experience difficulties in these areas. Hence the plays included emphasis on aspects like verbal/non-verbal communication, humour, topic flow, contextual cues from the environment, which are typically weaker in these individuals. Tackling initiation difficulties and inducing reciprocity was also a focus in the training leading up to the festival day. It helped understand thoughts, intentions, motives, and behaviours of ourselves and others to a large extent. Some strategies are capable of both teaching a new skill and enhancing the performance of existing skills, for example- video modeling, social stories, prompting and self-monitoring. Targeting skills and successful evidence-based interventions include observation, modeling, coaching, social problem solving, behavior rehearsal, feedback, and reinforcement-based strategies.
Most importantly positive relationships between parents and teachers/ schools prove very critical in the healthy development and acceptance of individuals on the spectrum. Hence family members and others participating with equal zeal with the kids is of paramount importance. There must be frequent and on-going dialogue between care-givers and professionals such that the goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-Oriented, Time Bound. Witnessing the spectacle of the celebrations and the kids enthralling the audience through their refulgent performances… all I could do,in the words of Travis Shane Meeks, is “Touch, Stand and Peel”…
Kolata
Nandi Kolu
Agomoni
Tree Preservation
Dhak Dance with Dhinuchi
Garba
Few Snippets
