Communication - and lots of hope

One of the root causes that drives a lot of challenges for Adi is his inability to communicate. He is able to understand most of what is being said to him and increasingly a lot of what is going on around him. However, when he wants or does not want something to happen, or when he wants to express a like or dislike, he hunts for avenues to communicate. Words do not crop up for him. He goes silent - tries to make an effort. Like a student trying to remember a sentence that he read up but has now forgotten - he starts repeating "I want, I want..." in the hope that the remaining part - what he wants - will come. At times I see him shut his eyes tight and lean his head back as he tries to remember the word or the phrase which he should say. As a father, it is one of the most heart rending sights - and I live through this every day. I try to imagine what it is like living in Adi's world - for a day, at least. Be with all - and yet be away from all. Go through the day without being able to express what you  do or do not want to do, say, eat to a large extent - depend a lot on what your parents can make out. What happens in school when he is away from us?

And sometimes, there is a streak of sunshine that penetrates the clouds and suddenly - like the first rays of light after a very long, dark night - feels me with enduring hope. Just this week - he was near the fridge - wanting to open it for the ice cream pint within. And so he stands there - and I ask him - what do you want? Open fridge - he says. So I allow him to open it. Now what do you want? In a very rushed and unclear voice - i ccrring..... And I say - I did not understand. He looks at me, and with increasing exasperation, says - I want i-c-e- c-r-e-a-m!"" He just spells out the word clearly. Both his mom and me are stunned. He understands that he is not being clear - and he knows what to do to get the word across. That is hope ! And I believe, I believe....

Got to start looking at the human machine interfaces ....