Plants - A Source of Learning

Plants – A Source of Learning

Having a mini garden has always been a dream. It’s been a year since my interest in gardening grew even further. I started off with two plants in my verandah and now I have 5 of them. As a child I always had green fingers. I was always attracted to greenery and would love to spend time watching my granddad prim the plants. Looking at buds flourishing into a flower gave me happiness. I love to talk to my plants, caress them, nourish them and take care of them. Each morning I see the plants blooming and brimming positively. As I water them, I feel a mystical bond with them.

          Recently I learnt something profound from plants. As the day progress, the brightest star, spreads its rays over the plants, the plants get nurtured. The scorching sun rays hover over the plants but plants use that to grow. What I learnt from this was that when plants can use the sweltering sun rays as a source of nourishment despite going through pain and heat, why we can’t use hardship as a source of nourishment for our soul to strengthen. We can indeed learn and grow from problems that surround us and use it to build a more enduring self, full of determination to take life head on and forge a never give up attitude.

          Another thing that fascinated me is that when one flower falls another bud blooms and there comes a fresh flower again. What this teaches us is that life goes on! We may witness dying circumstances but what matters is whether we can stand up each time we fall with the same resolution and zing for life.

          Plants need soil, water, sunlight and fertilizers to grow. With these four essentials they cultivate into a beautiful plant and give out pretty flowers and delicious fruits. Similarly we can weave a beautiful self with right essentials in our life and develop a self that one we can look up to irrespective of the muck that surrounds us.

          Plants are rooted to mother earth. We should always remain grounded to our ethics and self beliefs no matter what adversity falls upon us. This reminds me of a proverb by Buddha “The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground.”

          Plants have their own language to communicate. When the wind blows they dance and sway with happiness. When it rains they get greener and look lovelier. Different colors appeal different emotions, all signifying beauty, beauty in nature, beauty in hearts and beauty in soul!

          My plants not only help me heal, they teach me, help me grow and ensure to brighten up my day by blooming colorful flowers day after day.

                                                                    ©Aditi Chaudhary

Silence

Silence

In the silence of the night,

I weep out my pain.

I wait to be myself,

So I can let go the hurt…

I wait for the dark hours,

So I feel its okay to cry…

As through the day,

I see betrayal, lies and contempt…

It is in the silence of the night,

I seek reply to an endless list of questions…

It’s the time of the day,

I don’t have to smile,

to pretend to be at gay…

In this world where true love is abused,

One has to shoulder a strong self,

In order to be not used…

It is in the silence of the night,

I can be a child and seek,

embrace from the Creator…

I can ask Him to give me courage,

To stand up against falsity and

Gear up the strength to

Face a new day, a new challenge again…

Aditi Chaudhary

Therapist Shopping

Therapist Shopping

2^nd April is marked as World Autism Awareness day. Every professional working with children with Autism pledges to spread awareness about autism especially on this day. There are conferences, posters, walkathons and street plays all signifying importance of early detection and corrective treatment. I personally believe that it is the need of the hour. But what is also important is to speak about issues that are not commonly spoken about which ultimately hinders the child’s development, one of them being “therapist shopping” by parents. 

So what does Therapist Shopping mean? It means hopping or changing from one therapist or professional to the other without giving the due time or having faith and trust in the professional. Have you heard about the “herd mentality”? If no, then to highlight, it means how people get influenced to follow trends or adopt certain behaviors ‘blindly’ without applying their mind to it. Very often I have seen a similar pattern emerging in parents of special children to choose the right therapist for their child.

To choose the right therapist you need to do research and trust your personal gut. You need to have faith and trust in the professional and give reasonable time to the professional working on the child. As we know, bringing about a change in children is a great challenge. It is even more difficult in children with special needs because of impaired communication and co-morbid challenges. So patience is of utmost importance.

Some statements by parents who usually exhibit therapist shopping are “We saw no change so we stopped therapy in 2 turns!” “We have tried all the therapists, none are good. You can’t get what you get abroad, here”. “Oh you should try that therapist she/he has a fancy clinic and she/he is quite famous”.

On a personal note, 2 turns is way too less to even judge whether a rapport was established between a child and a therapist, forget a change to happen on account of the therapy sessions. I don’t deny services available abroad are very advanced and professional but we need to have a more realistic expectation of what is available and how to maximize what is being offered in our country, rather that being obsessed with the “foreign tag”. Also all that glows may not necessarily be gold! So when you are choosing a therapist for your child, focus on credentials, previous work experience, documentation, treatment plan and moreover on your own personal instinct. 

The reason I strongly felt the need to write about this topic on world autism awareness day is because it perturbs me to see more and more children suffering because of ignorance and crowd wisdom. Not only is crucial time lost, it leads to instability in any therapy, loss of money, confusion for the child, frustration in parents and most importantly poor prognosis.

I understand the parents concerns and fears and that each parent wants the best for their child. But at the same time one needs to take a reasonable and informed decision in choosing the right professional for the child. Our ultimate goal lies in ‘bridging’ the child’s developmental lag and ‘enhancing’ functional independence. Parents and professionals should work collectively as a team, I would say as a ‘family’ to help the child gain maximum benefit.

                                                                        Aditi Chaudhary