Metro Trains & Dhruv :)

Parenting…one of the toughest jobs in the world.

Parenting a neurotypical child is tough enough and when you add Autism to the mix, it is like trying to scale the impenetrable wall in ‘The Game of Thrones’ with new challenges on a regular basis! With neurotypical children, you teach them some stuff, and the rest they pick up on their own. With an Autistic child, you have to teach them well, just about everything! I realized even simple things that I took for granted were challenging for Dhruv.

Metro trains have always fascinated Dhruv and even today he loves watching videos on metros. He loves listening to the announcement when the metro train is approaching a station or when it has stopped and asks the commuters to use a particular exit. Be it Delhi or Bangalore, traveling by metro is like a treat for him

When we were in Delhi, we used to go to “Children First” for therapy. We lived in Dwarka and it was 25kms away from our place. As Dhruv loved traveling by metro, some days instead of a cab we would take the metro. Another reason for taking the metro was to ensure he got exposure to public transport as well.

This incident happened in April 2017. It was the day we were traveling by the Airport Express metro to go for therapy. Now the Airport Express has a system that lets you know which station is approaching. There is a small panel with stations marked on it and tiny blue dots which keep increasing as you inch closer to a station. Each time we traveled by metro, I had been trying to teach him what the blue dots meant but without any success.

That day we boarded the train at Dwarka and within a matter of minutes he said, “Airport”. I looked quizzically at him and said, “What?” He repeated, “Airport” very nonchalantly and as I looked up I saw the blue dot on the airport! I got super excited and tried it at the next station and asked him, “Dhruv where have we reached?” He looked thoughtfully and said, “Aerocity”! I almost felt my heart explode and wanted to jump up and down with joy. Instead, I just hugged him with misty eyes as my baby had finally connected the dots literally and figuratively!

This incident may seem very normal and ordinary for a regular parent, but try parenting a child with Autism, with severe processing and comprehension issues and you would know just how big a deal it was for him and us.

Living with Autism I have learned miracles do happen, you just need to be positive and aware, so that you don’t miss out on them when they actually happen!

Dhruv has achieved many milestones after this incident and each one came with a lot of effort on his part we make it a point to let him know we appreciate his efforts. This particular milestone somehow is very special to me and I keep awaiting the next miracle and milestone

Ps: After this incident, I too love the metro 

Disclaimer: The views expressed are my personal thoughts and are not meant to offend anyone’s beliefs and sensibilities.

The original link here : https://sujapisharody.home.blog/2020/09/13/metro-trains-dhruv/

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