Yesterday was a special day in my life.
I took the day off – to pamper and nurture myself.
Rarely, do I get time off to just wander, day dream and spend my day without an agenda. When that happens, it’s a special day.

So I took off to spend a luxurious few hours, walking around a quiet, spacious mall. I didn’t need anything. I just wanted to ‘be.’ No appointments, no calls.

I walked into a store to buy my favorite body wash and lotion. The rose fragrance from the lotion was heady. It transported me to the top of the world.
The shop keeper tried to sell me many items- to no avail.
I knew exactly what I wanted. I picked it up and left.
It was a calm, still feeling.

After walking aroud a bit, I chose to sit down and have a cup of my favorite Cappucino. And a light carrot cake piece to go with it. I savored the moment. Oh, the simple joys of life.
I took took a picture of the cake and coffee to remind myself of what a good, carefree afternoon I spent.

You know where this leading, right?
What could possibly be the connection between what I’ve shared and tips for the neuro diverse children I work with?

If we want memories to stand out for them, we should be able to spotlight those during episodes and then encode them.
I know this sounds like gibberish. Give me a chance to explain.

Aahan and I were cooking together, he made some wonderful uttapams.
It was a challenge as he had to do this himself. I knew he was capable. But I wanted him to feel capable and competent.
I wanted to transfer that feeling of ‘I did it,’ to him.

Once he accomplished flipping it, I spotlighted (0.10 mins of the video) how he faced the challenge and what a good cook he was. We replayed the event.

I wanted him to realize this. So he came up with this video to represent his feelings.

Check it out.

 

To encode means to construct useful representational triggers.

Why do we do this? In the future when Aahan is uncertain or unsure about his abilities, he can look at this short clip and encourage himself to continue.

Over a period of time, this will become a part of his life. When he comes across challenges, he will remind himself that he overcame challenges in the past and he can overcome them now, as well.

Create those memory chains for your child. Let your children know how good, resilient, smart they are.

Another bright, young woman, Gayatri Gupta, makes memories a different way.

Isn’t it priceless? What a way to remind herself of how accomplished she is. This will certainly motivate Gayatri to make more memories.

Can you imagine how confident this could make anybody feel?

Sometimes, your child may not be able to do this by himself or herself.
Here’s a beautiful way you can encode this for your child.

 

Look how wonderfully the mother helps her child to recall a prior experience. The picture facilitates the memory chains.

You can see the child’s participation in filling in with words.
Don’t miss the beautiful smile of competence on her face.

You can do the same for your child.

You have various options. Choose the one/s your child feels comfortable with. Each individual is different.

Writing
Taking pictures
Selfie videos
Audio recordings
Powerpoints
Creating memory collages (art)
Typing on laptops/ computers
Typing on the AVAZ app

I encoded memories of a day that was meaningful and special for me by soaking in the moment, taking pictures to create beautiful memory chains.

Do you now see how I relate what I do with what I want to build for my students?

We tend to get caught in labels and limit our children by those labels.
It’s time to let it all go.
Your child is first of all a respectable, intelligent, feeling wonderful human being.
Believe in him/her, so that they can believe in themselves.

Try this beautiful simple method of spotlighting and encoding.
Let me know how it went for your child or student.