M for Molly and Moana

This post is a little different than others as I am mentioning not one but two films that are my favorites. One is Molly (1999) and another is an animated film Moana (2016). Both belong to a different genre but have a lot to tell.

 

Molly is an autistic girl who has been living in an institution after her parent’s death. Since the institute is getting shut down she has to shift with her brother Buck, who is suddenly loaded with her responsibility and has no idea how to handle her. The film is about their journey together. The brother is suddenly burdened with his sister’s responsibility; he is frustrated and angry but at the same time loves his sister and is very protective of her and feels helpless as he can’t do anything about it. Another film named Benny and Joon (1993) which I have seen, had a similar theme.

 

Since it is the brother, everyone feels bad as he can’t have a life, as he has his sister’s responsibility. But when a mother is a caregiver, everyone puts her on a pedestal and says it’s her duty and her sacrifices are taken for granted. Why? Doesn’t she too have a life? Doesn’t she too feel helpless in her situation?

 

Moana, on the other hand, is about loving nature. Te Fiti’s heart is stolen by Maui and is lost in the ocean. Moana is handed over the responsibility of giving Te Fiti her heart back so that Te Ka’s curse is lifted. But when Moana goes to fight Te ka, she realizes Te Ka is Te Fiti, corrupted due to the loss of her heart. We have always taken Mother Nature for granted. Didn’t we see and learn a lesson during the lockdown in the past two years? 

 

Both, actually all three movies are my favorites and are worth watching for their respective reasons.

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Autism Awareness

            Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a very broad term usually referred to a group of neurodevelopmental disorder.

            Children with ASD often can have one or many symptoms.

Some of common symptoms are :

• Difficulty in Social interaction: Children with ASD like to be left alone. In other words they like to be in their own world. Some might enjoy company of those with whom they are comfortable. For them numbers doesn’t matter, what matters is the company.
• Repetitive or limited interest: Some children might keep repeating words or sentence which they might have recently heard or taught. Some might keep doing a particular activity which catches their interests again and again.
• Arranging/stacking of playthings: They like to arrange their playthings in a straight line or stack it one above the other.
• Getting upset with change in daily routine: A slight change in their daily routine upsets them, which causes them to throw a tantrum. Calming down a child is a bit tedious task as each child has different tantrum level.
• Avoiding eye contact: Children usually avoid giving an eye contact to others while interacting.
• Slow or no response on calling his/her name: When you call a child by his/her name, they don’t respond or see. Sometimes they don’t respond to you when they are absorbed in their own tasks.
• Lack of communication: Children might lack or have delay speech. They might have difficulty in conveying their needs.
• Sometimes they are so hyper, that they are all over the place and are unable to sit down and complete their task.

Each child may have different level of symptoms. Some might show single, some might show multiple symptoms. It's not necessary that each child will have symptoms which will disrupt their normal daily routine.

Causes of ASD in kids can either be genetic or maybe due to stress during pregnancy. Exact causes are still not known.

            First and foremost step is diagnosis. If you feel you child’s milestones are lagging, get your child checked with your paediatric doctor or by a developmental paediatrician, as they are ones who might properly guide you.

            Children with autism might require physiotherapy, speech therapy, occupational and behavioral therapy depending on their issues. Some kids might be benefitted with art/music/dance therapy as it will help soothe them.

            As parents, in today’s scenario it is very necessary to keep a track on our kid’s milestones. There are many sites available today but, sometimes it might be confusing for a new parent as which one to consult. So here is a site (http://www.totsguide.com/) which will help all parents find all the necessary information they require to keep a track on their child’s development.

            Each child is unique in their own way. Never compare or belittle a child.

            A small poem on this…

Some call us Special,

Some call us Different,

While some call us Disabled.

We call ourselves

Differently abled.