Had the privilege of spending a whole day with Temple Grandin earlier
this week. There’s so much to learn from someone like her. And, what better
than all the wisdom coming from a person in the Autism Spectrum. The focus,
sense of humor, ability to accept the deficiencies & learn constantly; and of
course the tremendous amount of energy at the age of 67 is just incredible. A lot
to take away, but here I would focus just on what we need to do
better as parents and teachers of any child (not just for those in the Autism
Spectrum). I continue to believe that it’s no different to teach a child in the
spectrum than teach a child who’s not – this just gets reinforced each time.
Each lesson has a unique message, and needs to be thought through
and reinforced into an individual.
1.
“Why
look at curing Autism? Then half of Silicon Valley will lose its edge. Don't
get carried away by cures and fads”. Important that we look at the strengths
of a person, and don’t get carried away by fads. The fundamentals of learning
have remained the same always, and haven’t really changed. We are better equipped
to deliver education to our children today, than we were in the past. It’s
important that we understand these tools (computers, devices, digital assets
etc), and use them in the most effective manner.
2.
“Find
the kind of thinker the child is – Auditory, Visual or Mathematical”. It’s important
that teachers and parents spend focused time with children to identify the kind
of learners they are. Temple mentioned how life changed for her when she realized
that she was a visual thinker and not everyone is. So, the way others
understand might be different from how you perceive. She explains this beautifully
her book ‘Thinking in Pictures’. Just to clarify, a visual thinker doesn’t mean,
someone who likes to draw and its someone who runs their thoughts in pictures.
Its important to get into the root as you start the learning process.
3.
“You
need to stimulate a child’s learning process through activities and excitement”.
This is so obvious! But, most of the times we don’t do this. We think learning
is in those classrooms – go out and experience the real world. Converse,
encourage, engage to the extent that it’s your play than just theirs – keep away
the phone for some time, you’ll probably appreciate the beauty in the child
more than the ‘likes’ on facebook!
4.
“Teaching
social skills is like teaching a person to survive in a new (foreign) culture”.
Wow, never thought of it this way! She gave examples of how some people are
quick to learn social skills, and some are not. So, there needs to be a method
in the way parents and teachers enable a child’s social learning process. Focus
on conversation and activity-based teaching, where there’s an underlying
learning objective. As an example, if you are about to celebrate ‘Holi’, start
talking to the child days in advance that “Holi is about celebrating colours,
you’ll be meeting your mama & mami and they’ll get sweets for you. Mama is
your mom’s brother………………….”. Here you are not just preparing the child for a
colourful (probably wet and dirty!) Holi, but also teaching them social
relations. Such a conversation has to start a few days before, and has to be
reinforced.
5.
Teach
the kids work-skills – “Teach them what the shop lady wants, not what you
thought was cool”. No child wants to be a software programmer
or a musician (there might be a exception). They
probably just enjoy playing on a device, laptop or listening to music. Engage
them in activities that are socially useful, and where they can build on their
preferences. If a child likes a laptop, get them to help you with drawings
& decorations, or for an older child get them to do the monthly household
accounting, and for a much older child ask them to go and help a non-profit or
a small business with their computer skills. Getting them into the open will
help them build holistically rather than in just one skill.
6.
“Focus
on Specific goals and not give vagueness”. This is especially true for
children & individuals in the spectrum. Start working towards specific
goals, and make it exciting when they reach these goals. She gave an example of
specific goals vs vague ones. “A specific goal is one where I tell a software
company to make a 3D scanning machine, which should have no moving parts, should
be able to scan a bunch of keys upto a soccer ball. Moreover, I don’t like
reading manuals, so it shouldn’t have any (laughs)”. This is a specific goal,
better than “I want a 3D scanning machine that can scan objects”. Goals also
need to be relatively tough, so that the child feels challenged, and there’s a sense
of achievement when they get there.
7.
“Teach
children ‘Project Loyalty’ “. This was one of the highlights for me
personally. We’ve probably heard a lot of quotes around this “Let’s focus on
the larger purpose, and not the operational details”, “It’s about winning the
war and not the battles”. All this can be summed up as “Project Loyalty” – it’s
about trying to handle or control your emotions while being focused on the
project goal. And a project could be anything that you wish to achieve. Her
initial experiences while working in neighborhood stores and cattle farms taught
her this – the ability to ignore or accept perspectives/ conversations that you
may dislike, in the interest of the larger goal you want to achieve.
8.
“Don’t
let them play video games all day (or on devices!) – connect the real world to
the virtual”. (She would have probably mentioned this 10
times during the whole day, and this had to find a place here!). If you really think that a child is learning
all the time while on a digital device, it’s time to act soon. The learning happens only when the content
starts making sense, and this doesn’t happen without conversations by the parent
or teacher. Talk to the child on what they are doing, teach them logic, take
them out into the open and connect with what they have been seeing on the
screen. Above all, children copy what you do, so if your fingers are busy on
the devices all the time, don’t expect any different from them. (I need to
learn here as well !)
9.
“Get
children interested in things – I was not born with livestock skills, I built
an interest because I was exposed to that really early. You never know what
children might get interested in. Passion develops doing things you are exposed
to”. Sometimes, passion is like an arranged marriage. You need to
expose a child to various hobbies, skills or vocations. You never know what the
child might like to take up for the future. Though you mostly have the choice of what they
get exposed to, the power to choose eventually is theirs!
10.
“Disability
is sometimes extreme ability. The abilities of a person is like the equalizer buttons
on a music system”.
This
was a really nice corollary, which also probably indicated her visual thinking.
She explains this quite well in her book “The Autistic Brain”, where its
beautifully explained how children pick up and master certain skills and how as
teachers, parents and employers you can make the most of the brain’s wiring. Every
individual has abilities at different levels, like that in a music system equalizer
where different abilities are at different levels. When it comes to autism,
some of these levels are at extremes. Again, gauge the abilities & the
weaknesses in a child, strengthen the abilities and build on the weaknesses.
11.
This is a Bonus lesson “Have (and inculcate) a purpose in life”. Temple mentioned how her purpose is just
twofold – To have the best livestock units in the world and to share her wisdom
on different kinds of minds. “I still stay in the student quarters, and share
all my money into teaching”. Don’t need to explain this any further.
It's seldom that you get opportunities like this to engage with role models, who you never imagined you would meet – the best takeaways are the ones where you let them shape your life in a more meaningful manner.
A BIG thanks to my boss, mentor and a good friend (generally not a
good idea to mix these J) – Ferose. And, of course all the partners
in this journey ………….There’s a lot more to do!
