Preparing Jijo for a magazine interview!
So much has happened.
And from year 2019 we have moved onto year 2020. Little did we know what was in store for us till February end! And the whole world now weeps of the destruction created by one small microbe named Covid-19. Life suddenly seems to have come to a halt – apparently…
Jijo went on with his work. He asked why he was not going to Anicipate Studio to work as he is happiest in that environment. His teachers from Spastics Society of Karnataka too gave them a notice to stay at home. So what was actually happening? Everyone was at home! We explained why and he promptly said – “Wash your hands. Stay home. Don’t worry everything will be fine!”
Life brings in rewards in its own way. Winning #Lotsofsocks award brought Jijo accolades which threw us overboard!
We received a mail from Enable magazine UK stating that they wanted to feature my #SuperheroJijo in their March-April issue!
Once again, the adage that came true is – ‘Believe in your child’.
Individuals with Down Syndrome have tremendous potential in the capabilities that they possess. Developing such positive attitudes towards the growth of our children will ensure the confidence that they portray in their work.
The questionnaire was sent by team Enable. We promised not to answer a single query addressed to Jijo by ourselves. It is he who should answer. Thus, began sessions of extracting responses from #SuperheroJijo. When I revealed to him that a magazine will now feature him, his face lit up, like thousand-watt bulbs!
We took two questions a day. I came back from my workplace and began speaking with him writing the question down. I showed him the mail addressed to him with questions which came forth in it. There were 15 questions that he had to answer. This is the first time he had to answer queries by an external agency. We discussed them one by one. Breaking them to his understanding, his mood and at the same time keeping the deadline in mind.
Questions about himself, his inspiration, his favourite method of working and many more needed to be made easy for him to understand. Sometimes analogies helped but most of the time it did not. He could not come to compare himself with a different situation. So we had to try different methods.
In this entire process, I realised that when Jijo has the onus to convey his ideas, he opened his heart and spoke – he may not have been coherent, but we picked the phrases, the words, the emotions and wrote them exactly the way he said. It was exhilarating to hear him speak words that I never otherwise heard before.
We can’t thank Enable Magazine UK enough for this wonderful exercise. I guess these needs come with time and it helps Jijo notice that he is evolving into something he dreamed of, which demands more than just making good art.
Art enabled Jijo to ponder, to think, to think deeply in his own capacity. Discussions happened. Skills were introduced. Repetition and reminders. Motivation and constant inspiration helped pave the way. A visual learner by nature, he probably learnt words related to art from the various art videos that taught him acrylic, digital painting and others.
As a family we believe in this. We put forward ideas and situations pertaining to his ability and see how he tackles it. The interview from Enable Magazine was a step towards that. Their work in this field is phenomenal and I highly recommend going through the March-April issue of the magazine below. I’m sure it will inspire you and show you unique capabilities of differently-abled individuals from around the world.