On my son Andrew's 15th birthday, I whisked him to a shoe store near our home in Toronto to get a pair of sandals. We knew the exact style and size he wanted, and arrived right when the store opened. Andrew is nonspeaking autistic and prefers shopping when it's not busy.
"Size 41 of those black slip-on sandals, please," I told the clerks.
Andrew slipped his feet into the shoes with no protest or head banging (signs of distress we have seen in the past). A perfect fit. We boxed them up, paid and thanked the clerks.
"It's Andrew's birthday today. Fifteen! Got our new shoes and now we're off to celebrate with family," I said.
"Happy birthday!" they said. "Have fun!" What comes next only happens when you act on intuition, when the voice inside says to stop and do things differently. Instead of having Andrew point to the "thank you" symbol on his picture chart, I hold up his letter board.
For 10 years, Andrew has used a picture chart to communicate. The images represent important and common words: people, places, food, greetings and activities.
Bu hikaye Reader's Digest India dergisinin February 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Reader's Digest India dergisinin February 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
ME & MY SHELF
Siddharth Kapila is a lawyer turned writer whose writing has focussed on issues surrounding Hinduism. His debut book, Tripping Down the Ganga: A Son's Exploration of Faith (Speaking Tiger) traces his seven-year-long journey along India's holiest river and his explorations into the nature of faith among believers and skeptics alike.
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