Tanmay is adjusting well to a stringent, predictable and regular schedule. He looks forward to the structured program around sports, music, art and vocational activities. His day starts with a morning assembly and a march past to drum beats, group music sessions where they sway to different instruments and there’s singing by the adults and the children. His favourite being beating the djembe drum, with a group of friends, all of them sitting under the green trees.He and his friends are making handcrafted diyas, clay pendants, eco-friendly plates, torans, learning how to deftly manage a knife to chop vegetables and similar vocational and independent living activities, which serve as sensory therapy and is also enabling them to manage their daily chores. Some of his friends, who have now been trained to work with a job coach, have found engagement at the Ashram Convenience Store, at the Car wash unit and assist willingly in home delivery of goods within the community.Tanmay’s 2-bedroom cottage (Tanmay Kunj) comes with a high-ceiling living room, where the glass and mesh windows bring-in a lot of fresh air and natural light, has a large kitchen with windows – where a modern-day chimney is redundant. The kitchen has been thoughtfully made with a door, which can be locked up, especially for those autistic kids and adults who are into compulsive and untimely binge eating.For Tanmay, the most attractive part seems to be an open porch, where his jute-woven swing, gifted by Sanjay tauji serves as his me-time. He enjoys observing the coconut tree, firmly ensconced between the two lush neem trees, and he rushes to greet the familiar and the much-loving faces of his friends and guardians, as they walk past his cottage.The way the cottage has been designed, it is getting clearer by the day that our children can be trained to spend their future years in their own cottage, with minimal support. Tanmay is visibly showing a deep sense of attachment to his own space and likes to arrange his room which has a workstation and all his favorite things. His wardrobes have been structured in a way that he can fold and stack his clothes and be completely independent with his choice of clothes and bathing.
Source link
