Heartwarming article about social interactions and kindness towards autistic people, inspired by a holiday in Myanmar

Dear everyone, Here are the 3 highlights of Awakening Minds for this month:

New Article: I had taken quite a hiatus from putting up new articles on the Awakening Minds website; thus it is with tremendous pleasure and gratitude that I share with you the newest addition to my article collection. "Smiles for Sebastien"is inspired by my holiday experiences in Myanmar with Sebastien, my autistic 15-year-old. I highlight the wonderful, spontaneous social interactions of the local people in Myanmar with Sebastien to point out the limitations of caregivers and professionals' preoccupation with training autistic individuals to have "socially appropriate behaviour". There is much for us to learn from those who approach special needs individuals from a place of kindness, not just knowledge and expertise. Our true acceptance of autistic individuals will encourage them to genuinely connect with us in ways that are true to their being. I believe that this heartwarming article will touch caregivers and professionals, as well as encourage members of the public to show kindness towards who are different in our midst: all it takes is a smile.

 Below is an excerpt...

 Smiles for Sebastien by Choo Kah Ying 

 ...Snapshot 2: 

 Seated snugly in the wooden seat of the trishaw, Sebastien was bonding with the trishaw rider who had gotten him to wear a conical paddy hat. Their connection was forged with every bump they traversed on the dirt path, which would trigger Sebastien’s yelps of excitement and cascades of giggles; the single words exchanged between them – the trishaw rider with his smattering of English and Sebastien with his reluctance to speak; and the occasional celebratory high fives. Simplistic as these interactions might have been, the mutual pleasure of these two young men was unmistakably registered in their glinting eyes and broad grins that stretched from ear to ear. Heartwarming, spontaneous, unmediated... 

 One of the chief deficits of autistic individuals is their lack of social skills. Caregivers and professionals take great pains to teach them social rules of decorum and social scripts. Without being conscious of it, we send them this tacit message: If they would only speak and act in conformity to social norms, they would be better accepted by others. While some manage to respond appropriately at times, depending on their functioning levels, they do so with stilted and awkward formality, akin to those who are made to wear fancy clothes in which they feel ill at ease... 

 …what is most remarkable about Sebastien's social interactions in these two snapshots is their pleasure and spontaneity. The Myanmar people seemed to have connected with Sebastien easily by accepting him for who he is, thus refuting a common belief that educating people about autism is the only key to dispelling ignorance and fears about autistic individuals. Though these people were neither autism professionals nor caregivers, they did not hide behind a façade of ignorance as the perfect excuse to treat Sebastien with indifference or unkindness. The truth is that I would not have held it against them, had they done so. After all, we have long encountered negative responses that have only escalated since Sebastien’s transformation into a tall strapping youth. Instead, these Myanmar people went out of their way to make Sebastien feel special. 

But even more impressive was the fact that their kind gestures seemed to require no great effort on their part. (And those who know how laboured interactions can be with autistic individuals will appreciate my delight why Sebastien's with the Myanmar people were so special.) One of the trishaw riders who gave me the two simple words to explain their ease with Sebastien: "Heart hurt". “Heart hurt” – the wellspring of compassion that takes away one's fears and false sense of superiority. It was broken English that could not have explained the source of their kindness more eloquently. For these folks whose sense of compassion is still ingrained in their bones, treating someone with autism with kindness and openness is obvious, for kindness needs no teaching, no education. It is present within each one of us, in the best of humanity. At the end of the day, showing compassion to those with special needs is a matter of the heart, not of the mind... 

 To read more, please go to: http://www.awakeningminds.sg/articles_smiles_for_sebastien.html (it has two photos...) 

Sebastien's love affair with water and colours art collection: Please check out the latest additions to Sebastien's water colour paintings: http://poudevigne.photoshelter.com/gallery/Autistic-art/G0000aSVnNhajcB0/ 

Writing templates: These highly-affordable, fun and interactive writing templates that will introduce young learners or older learning with learning difficulties to sentences, short passages, and answering questions, are almost ready... In making them, I am seeking to create learning activities that learners with moderate to severe learning activities would be able to enjoy and perform without much frustration for learners and caregivers/professionals. I hope to have them ready next month... 

Please feel free to share this Website with others. 

 Best regards, Kah Ying