RESOURCES
Lockdown lessons from a Netflix show Chintan Girish Modi
T
he COVID-19 pandemic has brought new life lessons, and I have been trying to do my best to stay attentive keep learning. There is a slowness about each day that feels unusual especially in a chaotic city like Mumbai, which is usually overstimulated and always on the run. With no teaching or speaking commitments lined up, I suddenly have a lot more time in which to educate myself. I have been watching many shows on Netflix, and the one that has made the deepest impact is called Atypical. Created by Robia Rashid and produced in the United States, this web series revolves around the life of a teenager named Sam Gardner – played by Keir Gilchrist – who lives with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Three seasons have been released so far, and the fourth one will premiere in 2021.
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TEACHER PLUS, SEPTEMBER 2020
What is autism? The official website of Action for Autism, a non-profit organization that pioneered the autism movement in South Asia, describes it as “a lifelong neurological condition, a developmental disorder that typically occurs in the first three years of life.” What does that mean? “Autism appears as differences in development in three main areas: communication (verbal and non-verbal), social interactions and imagination, which can be seen in repetitive and restricted play or leisure activities.” Though India is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and our Parliament has passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (2016), there is terribly little awareness among educators about the needs of students with disabilities. The job of working with them is outsourced to specialists. While I understand
