Learn to Think, Talk, Play while playing

Initially, Raghav had lots of vocabulary and language including nouns and verbs around topics of his direct experience. He labeled things that he saw and even shared with therapist, like ‘he jumped in the balls’, ‘the hippo came’, ‘i don’t wanna see this rhyme, ‘please show me balls rhyme’. Raghav struggled to sustain on a topic of play or conversation for a longer time. He was using verbs to label actions using only one word or non-specific words like ’give me this’, ‘I want that thing’, ‘i has gone there’

The main verbal goals kept with Raghav were increasing the range of topics to talk on ranging from day to day things to things of his interest. For e.g. Park, bathing, brushing, going to school, birthday, going to a mall etc; understanding the topic of conversation and adding his element to it. One major focus was that he will sustain a conversation around the common topic, which will strengthen his emerging skill of joint attention.Divergent and convergent thinking were targeted through different games and activities. It was expected that as the skill of joint attention develops it will in turn increase his awareness of things around that are beyond his learned language and direct experience. Another major work was done so that Raghav uses use nouns and verbs instead of using non-directive descriptors like this, that, there etc.

Raghavs interest in rhymes made an obvious start from there. We turned all his favourite and learned rhymes into thinking rhymes and took turns to add our elements to it. For example, Old Mc Donald had a farm was turned into, Old Mc Donald had a room, in that room we had one book, and the verb that goes with it was used like read. This served an amazing start to more complex games of convergent and divergent thinking. We used various mediums like videos, books, construction and pretend play, role plays and experiencing things together to learn more and talk more. Co-creating joy together made play fun and learning easier. Adding the element of playfulness to every experience brings out something from it that one can learn. Gradually Raghav moved from obvious and in sight objects and experiences to abstract and experienced/ felt things, for example, One day while singing ‘If you are happy and you know it, Raghav said - Dance ‘Hare Rama, Hare Krishna.’ Which was one of the experience he had on a picnic from School to Iskon Temple.

Presently, Raghav uses varied nouns, descriptive words and adjectives in place of nonspecific descriptors while asking for something, describing something or talking about a topic. If he wanted a particular game earlier, he would point and say -‘give me that game’ but now if he wants the same game, he, he thinks and when prompted makes an effort to think about the function or characteristics of the game and would say ‘give me slide game.’ He is able to sustain on a topic for longer when we decide on a topic beforehand when elicited therapeutically. Raghav uses nouns and verbs that go with it in rhymes, songs, drawings, pretend play or constructive play too.