What's in a name?

Recently, I had a parent calling me up asking for therapy advise. Their child was now 3 years old and hardly said a few words. When I asked what the primary diagnosis was, the mother said that she had been to many a doctor and had received multiple diagnosis varying from Autism, Global developmental delay, Selective mutism and the varied. She said she didn’t need a new diagnostic label but to help her child in becoming more verbal. This is just one story. Another parent had their child put on the autism spectrum because he showed delayed speech due to lack of early stimulation at home with both parents working. And now, even though their son is perfectly communicating due to the extra attention they paid him, they are still afraid to let go of the term ASD.

We are all in a hurry to get a label on our child. He is a champion, she is an extrovert, that child is a child prodigy, oh no! my child has no skills, maybe he has a problem. Really what’s in the label?? Does your child need a label to carry across his future? Let them be children. It is their right to not have labels forced upon them. Are we as parents giving them the room and attention they need to grow? Maybe in this hectic pace of our everyday lives, if we just give them a few minutes of our time without pressure, we could help them to grow up to be healthy happy individuals.

With the recent pandemic and lockdown children have been showing a decrease in their speaking skills, play time and peer interaction. And the situation could get worse. As a parent myself here are a few things I practice keeping my kids engaged maybe not all but some of the time every day!

· Messy play: Use anything, dough, paints, papers, let them make a mess, let them create.

· Laughter time: Put on shows, standup comedians, Imitate their favorite cartoon characters.

· Physical play: With peek a boo, blind man buff, simon says and lots of hugs and kisses.

· TV time: Watch kid’s programs along with the kids, keep them on their toes by asking questions and guessing out silly answers.

· Story time: Usually before bedtime, animated characters and superhero themes!

· Cooking time: A great way to engage with your child, give them small easy to do tasks like sorting out the vegetables, stack out the spoons.

All of these tasks boil down to just parent child time. There is fun and frolic which ups your happy hormones and lots hugs and kisses which brings out the positivity in you and your child. No Labels, Happy child, happy family!

How are you spending time with your kids during this pandemic? Or has this post inspired you to spend more time with your children? Share your experiences and suggestions in the comments below or email us to m.kidstherapy@gmail.com

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