A walk in the tea garden..

I have not been very regular in writing about our SHG meetings here at Herbertpur. But it is happening. Last Sunday, V came, with his father.  As they came, father shared with me his worries about the youngster. In fact, it was more like a rant and I could feel V's discomfort. Later, when we were alone we talked about it- like two grown up friends. But before that- I enquired about his upcoming exams. V spoke very frankly and I immediately got the clue: I am good at maths- so I keep on doing maths. I dont understand science, so I dont study it.

Grand gala lunch!

Herbertpur Hardy boys invite you to a "Community lunch" at Guru Kripa Complex, Vikasnagar, at 1 pm on 22nd Dec. (Sunday). Please join if you are free and around.

An old meeting with Canadian students..

Sometime back, a small group of university students from Canada, visited us in Herbertpur. I could give them a good slide presentation about stammering and our work about it, in India- but I had a feeling that people listen to great speeches, applaud and then forget all about it- mostly! I decided to give it a different twist: a group discussion with a couple of pws and their families etc. The facilitator (myself)- just setting the stage and asking just a few questions here and there- nothing more. It went well.
Then, I forgot all about the meeting.
Today, I accidentally found out that one of the Canadian student (Jae) did write a post on their blog about this interaction, with two young pws and their families in Herbertpur. There are two things worth reflecting: the good analysis and documentation he did, of a meeting, which from my perspective was not "important"..( I did not post about it on TISA blog). Second: we need to be creative, whenever we are are in  group situation: Instead of one sided lectures, we can experiment with different formats: Group discussion; group presentation; watching a relevant video together or discussing a case study....
Here is the link to the post:
http://sihi2013.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/dr-sachin-and-the-indian-stammering-society-may-17th/

Herbertpur update.

Sumit and Atul came. We picked up the newspaper - read some news items and then presented the information as a synopsis, followed by rapid questions. I recorded and replayed it for them. Today's meeting was more one on one and both Sumit and Atul were opening up- sharing their thoughts, fears and doubts.

Face to Face!

Yesterday, we drove to Dehradun: Vaibhav, Sushil, Ashish, Sumit and self*. We met two Canadian students at Samagra and the staff there- Tika Ram, Mohit and Negi ji. We shared some videos (Peter Reitzes, Julia Irani) and there after we had an open Q&A session. Victor and Chetna, from MacMaster University, Ontario, asked many questions and we, the pws, tried to answer them as accurately as possible. Understanding each other was difficult at times for two reasons- our Indian accent and of course our stammering. So, it was a challenge for both the parties and by and large everyone did very well.

The rule for the guests was to keep on repeating the question till they had TRULY understood. PWS were also requested to use their techniques, use smaller sentences and - not just answer but make sure that they have been understood, by asking for feedback. Pretty engaging session which lasted about 3 hours. We returned after a nice lunch and interaction with the managing trustee, Suchitra ji.

(I could not take a picture- but Tikaram has taken one. Whenever it is put on Samagra blog, I will add a link here. Till then try and imagine- a group of stammerers trying to talk to a group of students, who have learned just one word of Hindi- Namastey!  BTW, it sounds very sweet coming from them.)

* I invited other young pws also for this face to face fun interaction- but Alas :-(  they were too busy on Facebook!

Story Telling

How many of you have been told stories as children? How many children get to hear it today? When I was a child my sister, my parents and some friends use to tell me stories. I did not get to "watch" Ramayan- but was told the story by my father, over many exciting evenings.

But today, that popular and wholesome family activity has vanished. Today, family watches the TV quietly and then retires for the night, since next morning everyone (including the children) has to rush off somewhere. During the day, when there may be time, people would rather talk to their smart-phones rather than to each other.

But story telling can be a very useful tool for language acquisition, communication skills, bonding and development of values and personality of the child. Even for older pws, this can be a very useful exercise- since it involves, imagination, thinking, telling and impromptu "special effects" and is full of fun for both parties.

I make it a point to "teach" this to the parents who come to me. This video, shows a Sikh gentleman telling a story from the life of Guru Nanak Dev ji, to his adopted child (a cws) and then the child retells the story back to him. I had to tell the father a few rules a couple of times: Keep the story simple. Only one story at a time and always ask for the feedback- the whole story back in child's own words and dont forget to praise him for the effort.

I hope they will continue this back home and have fun every evening. I myself was so touched that soon after, I researched and read the life of Sri Guru Govind Singh ji on Wikipedia. Ramakrishna once said that the ten Sikh gurus were the reincarnation of King Janak, hence such perfect balance in Bhakti and Karmayog in their lives.

Reality check

Sunday, 13 Nov 2011.
Pawan, Vineet and Susheel were there today. After usual gupshup and practice, Susheel confided that he was having a horrible time saying the home destination while returning by bus. I had been planning a bus trip with him for sometime. I knew, it had to be today.

So after the, meeting was over, Susheel and I got into a bus. He of course had his fears. But was I totally free of fear? No! I too had performance anxiety. Will I be able to play my role as a speech coach in a crowded bus? Time for reality check- I said to myself, as we hurtled in the bus..

Once in, we moved towards the front rapidly- to get hold of the conductor. Once there, I asked Susheel gently to go ahead, look into his eyes and bounce, the way we had practiced in Anugrah and on the bus stand with strangers, few minutes ago. I stood in such a way, that no one could move towards them- I had a A4 paper ready in my hands with destination written large on it (to hand it to Susheel, in case he failed to say the word)- But Susheel did manage to bounce and say the dreaded word. Conductor gave him the ticket.

Then, I requested him to inquire about other details about the destination from other people around - most, older than him. In about ten minutes, he had said the word at least 6 times with different people with some control and good eye contact. Mission accomplished, I got off at Herbertpur, where Pawan was waiting for me with his bike. He gave me a ride back.

Ten years back- would I have accomplished it differently? Yes, significantly so, I think. I would have never planned in detail, as I did it now: a written paper to help Susheel, just in case.. asking Pawan to get ahead and give me a ride back home etc. etc.
As I left the bus, I saw smiling face of Susheel, as he waived out. His problems are not over. Not yet. But at least he has seen that "it" can be done in the bus as well as in Anugrah.. It is a win-win situation for both of us.

Lets educate..

SHG meet in Herbertpur 9th Oct 2011

Two guests were there today in the group to learn about stammering and its effects on education. Mukarram, Vineet, Aman, Susheel, Pawan, Surinder, Nishant helped them in a broad discussion. Abhishek is a teacher who is working with Sachin, in one of the local schools - Baba Bhuman Shah Vidyalaya, teaching children who stammer, simple skills, based on Peter Reitzes book "Fifty Activities for children who stammer" (see the video below: he is teaching a child to bounce on his name). Other guest was Surabhi, an IT professional from Delhi. At the end of the session, both the guests shared their perceptions, finding and thoughts.

Therapeutic relationship & other updates

Fatima
She sat in front of me- big eyes and an expectant expression, waiting for my "verdict". Her father next to her- again quite expectant, suggested: I am sure you have a CD- give it to her. Her older sister, was the only one in the group, who fell in a thoughtful silence when I asked them, how long it will take me to learn Arabic. Yes, Fatima, the girl, who came with her family,  all the way from Dehradun, could read Arabic and offered her prayers in that language.

Anagramania

DCA students tackle an anagram

R A S E L I E
What is that? you ask quiet surprised. Keep guessing. This is an example of anagrams. I use them as ice breakers with young people. It keeps your brain alive and trim. In main stream education and occupations, there is great emphasis on linear learning and getting the job done, the way it has been laid down in the SOP manual (quite a sop for boring work?), and mostly on learning by rote. Not much scope for lateral thinking and problem solving. But life is much more complex than just creating a corel design.

Stuttering Arena

The other day Anupinder and Rajesh were here. I decided to put them in the ARENA- Roman style! Six young women and three young men- and three stammerers in the PIT! I prefaced the session, by saying: Ok students, we are going to have very good teacher taught ratio for next 2.5 hours: three teachers for 9 students! Here my friend Anupinder and Rajesh will help you deal with Corel RAVE 3, an animation program.

Lalit is here..

Lalit presenting challenges
of On-line Rail Booking system

Lalit is here; considering that he is an IT professional, I decided to use his knowledge to broaden the horizon of my students, who have been limited to just an off-line program like Coral and Pagemaker so far. This group of students knows well about my work with pws- and have been enthusiastic in learning about this communication issue and their potential role as a listener.

Boom Out..

Jayprakash was a new addition to the group; others were Dr Kshitiz, Raju, Rajesh, Nishant, Nishu and sachin. Jayprakash has tried his hands at teaching- Gave it up a few months back because he felt that first he must get a control over his stammering. He has been rejected summarily from Army recruitment in the past, just because of stammering- as he mentioned. He hails from Uttarkashi.

We had a round of paraphrasing a news item and making a formal presentation about it. Then, a round of intro, while standing in front of the group. Then, a round of bouncing / prolongation. An interesting exercise on prolongation was conducted by Dr Kshitiz. Interesting feedback kept coming spontaneously from members to speakers. Every round involved a little bit more complexity. Finally a game - "Boom out". It challenged the popular notion that stammerers have their IQ in "upper quintile"! Sadly, the hypothesis was found wrong! But of course, we all had fun. There can be fun in failing too, if you know what I mean..After all what is wrong in being imperfect and a little human..

We exchanged phone numbers and emphasied on the new member that their is a way to overcome his problem provided he is ready for a long haul. Dehradun group is getting ready to start formally with SHG in Dehradun soon. All the best to them! We missed Sourav, Vaibhav and Pawan..

Husband died the first night..

Just returned form three days of Walkathon in the mountains, north of Chakrata. Sumit, 15 yrs, came to SHG meeting, with his father, after a long gap. Nishu, Vineet and Parmanand were also there. Intros, news paper items for verbal presentation, some unstructured discussion, quick reveiw of bouncing and prolongation etc.- and then, I tossed: Do, we, the pws, tend to be more of a procrastinators than the normal population? I gave my own example how I had been postponing this trek for months together.

That started another good discussion, bringing out the need to address these deeper issues as much as the search for "fluency".
Then, I asked everyone to share their speech goals; Two members said- I want to be able to share a joke with better control. For us, sharing a joke too, can become very stressful! Parmanand shared this one:
A mosquito and fly decided to get married. The mosquito died on the first night. Why?

This is a nice technique- where you shift the 'burden' (of communication) on your audience for a short while--- while you catch your breath and get your bearings and are ready for the final coup.. It also makes your 'style' PARTICIPATORY.
Well, the answer is very simple, as told by our friend Parmanand, the Entomologist: Mosquitoe's wife, the Fly, had put on the "Night Queen"! This is why the mosquito died in the night.. ha ha ha..

H-H-Herbertpur..

Nishant and Vineet came today. Hats off to commitment of these two young men- their commitment to themselves! First we had some voice modulation exercises, with finger tips on our throat to appreciate the fine movement and vibration as the pitch or volume changes. I discussed the role of bringing consciousness down to our throat on certain occasions, like when saying "hello" - Otherwise there is a possibility that air may keep slipping out without the first sound taking off. Can be funny and painful at the same time!

I had brought photocopied script of a Children's play in Hindi- Kangaroo. We spread out in the big hall and delivered our dialogues in a loud voice- with me giving feedback once in a while- like asking them to bounce on a particular word, whenever I heard a little hesitation or avoidance- or to deliver the dialogue once again in a louder voice etc. etc. Lot of positive strokes too. Once the play was over- I sprung a surprise on Vineet: I asked him to go up on the dais and tell us the story behind the play!

Nishant is working in a cloth shop. Sometime ago his mother came and said that he needs to develop arithmetic skills too. So, we did some mental arithmetic with Nishant, had a cup of tea in a shop and parted. Yes, I gave Vineet his video, which I had recorded while he gave the synopsis of the play. He said, he will compare it with his older videos and tell me the difference. I need no telling, by the way- the differences over last one year are quite obvious to me! Not just speech but the attitude as well.

Herbertpur meets

Like every Sunday, this time too 6-7 people were there. Muqarram, Vaibhav, Mr Baburam, Ajai, Nishu and myself. Since Vaibhav, a class 8 student was with us- we kept the pace and level of difficulty low. Gradually, we were talking of more complex things (two things bad about your brother..), standing up, at some distance from the group, in a higher volume. Some fun, some frolic, some feedback. Whenever my turn came, I felt like excusing myself, since I had a hectic week and weekend- but I did not dare to, since when facilitator does not participate at equal footing, participants too stop exerting themselves very soon.. A group has to have perfect democracy- and not just appearance of it..

Next day, Monday (today), Vineet phoned and apologized for missing the Sunday meet and requested for sometime. I was in Computer (DTP) class and discussing stroke, fill, order and grid lines.. I asked the DTP students if they would mind giving a little time to one of my young friends.. They kindly agreed. So, Vineet came and told them about stammering and the activities he does in our self help group (below). It was nice to see the big change in Vineet today - he was holding forth inspite of his dis-fluencies; Change in human beings is a subtle thing to observe and interpret. But always exhilarating. It always proves that change is possible for every one of us..

Herbertpur group meets

We met again in Anugrah, this Sunday (May 30, 2011). There were four children, who did not stammer, but came- just because they found TISA meeting fun and also, I guess, in solidarity with one child who stammered. Fortunately JP was here, so it was possible to divide in two groups- and take the kids and their parents out for some games, while JP dealt with the rest of the main group.
It was a mixed group- every one had a different level of difficulties, came from a differnt back ground and had different expectations from the self help group. This can be a challenging situation for any facilitator- but not for JP !! He is good at guessing people's needs correctly and promptly devising suitable activities for them. And he makes them truly interactive, fun and energetic.
One of the activities today was- making 5 minute formal presentation on a topic. Raju spoke about Pericarditis! JP presented on Software based Telephone exchange solutions. Sachin shared about Female feticide, falling Child sex ratio etc. Nishant spoke about cotton cloth (he works as a salesman in a cloth shop). Mukarram spoke about the economics of running a village grocery shop.

Herbertpur SHG meeting

Many kids and adults were there today. Vaibhav, Arpit, Amit, Jassi, Mannu and Gurpreet; Their parents and rest of the gang- Pawan, Jagdish, Nishant, Mukarram, Vineet, Aman...and yes, Dr Kshitiz.
At one point we had to divide in 2 groups and fortunately Pawan was there to help with one group, while I dealt with kids. I did some vocalization exercises with kids, then we practiced a slow song (itni shakti hame dena data..)- then we played some vigorous games..story telling and.. and..
Pawan put the adults through their paces- gently but firmly: they played a game where they had to ask questions.. Then a mini talk round.. then, talking frankly about stammering.. We concluded with a round of speaking from the dais..
Two hours were gone in a blink and kids still wanted to talk, sing and dance.. A very fruitful session. We adults can learn a lot from children- provided we are open to the magic..

Day 1 CommWS HBT

Day 1: excitement, last minute phone calls, somebody just landed in Idyllic Herbertpur and knows not where to go etc. etc.. Finally we all were in the conference room by 9.40 am. About eleven people. There were four family members too who participated- asked questions and began to see their role in the recovery of their child or brother. The big picture.
Rambabu kindly reminded facilitators to use Hindi. Pawan, Parmanand and Nishu from Herbertpur SHG were there to help. Lot of questions, lot of doubts, memories and plans. Umesh has agreed to do a more detailed write up than this! Look for it.
Rambabu, Rajendra, Reekrit, Anubhav, Umesh, Rakesh, Mukarram, Pawan, Parmanand and Sachin participated.

Herbertpur Workshop 2-9 May

At the initiative of a group from Gwalior (thanks to Rajendra Sharma), TISA is organising a Communication workshop in Herbertpur (near Dehradun) from 2nd May. It will be five days (2-6 May) but some Gwalior participants will be staying on till 9th May. They may plan to attend a one day workshop in Chandigarh, if Chandigarh chapter is ready by then. Format of the wokrshop will be same as our previous workshops: participatory, interactive and lot of movies & popcorns! Arrive in Herbertpur by 9 am, 2nd May. Get in touch with sachin if you have a question. (satksri@gmail.com, 09412058272)

Agenda:
2nd May
9.30 - 12.30 pm: Welcome, Introductions, Expectations; clips from Unspeakable movie
2.30-5 pm : Bouncing & eye contact in group, then with strangers

3rd May
9.30 - 12.30pm: Recap- bouncing; intro to prolongation and good body language; Movie: Courage to Speak
2.30 - 5 pm : Stammering Ice-berg exercise; Interveiw within the group using Bouncing/ prolongation; Mutual Video recroding and sharing
6-7 pm: Market assignments in pair

4th May
9.30-12.30pm: Recap Bouncing and prolongation; Intro- pausing and VS. Movie: The King's Speech
2.30- 5 pm: Stammering Interveiws with strangers. Debriefing.
6-7 pm: Market assignments in pair

5th May
9.30-12.30pm: Recap all four techniques. Movie: Rocket science/ Front of the Class or other, depending on audience.
2.30- 5 pm: Role of motivation in recovery; problem of relapse; How to maintain recovery in the long run. How to give a good presentation? Topics to be given.

6th May
9.30- 12.30 pm: Formal presentation on given topics by participants (video graphy and review)
2.30- 5 pm: Movie: courage to speak. Individual (2 way) Feedback. Exchange contact info and arrangements for ongoing support. Concluding session with Anugrah functionaries.

Following 2 events are optional & may interchange, depending on the possibility of conference in Chandigarh.
7th May: One day trek to Bhadraj- Mussoorie. (optional)
8th May: One day conference in Chandigarh. (optional)