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Nightmare, unfair, unpredictable, strange, evolving – these were the words used by our goDiscover family to describe the year 2020 in one word. Just like the others, we dealt with unprecedented challenges, worries and conflicts too. For instance, concerns about elderly parents health, closed schools, fear of job loss, and the overall economic situation. All these worries heavily weigh each for itself. Despite all the burden that 2020 put on us, the goDiscover family is a humble supporter to you. Our educational products help kids, parents and teachers to cope with the new home schooling methodology. We at goDiscover  are very happy to help you during these hard economic times. Following, we’d like to take you – our friends, clients, partners and supporters – on our personal journey of 2020. The unknown 2020 began for us with lots of hopes and dreams. We were going international, launch online sales and introduce many new products. In February, we welcomed many new faces in our team and were eager to know each other. And even little things like an increase in the lunch plate size could make some colleagues happy 😉 While our bosses were at the world’s largest toy fair in Germany taking the international leap for us, the new goDiscover team members were getting their welcome with the special ‘cutting chai’ at our favourite tea stall outside on a gloomy but beautiful winter evening. There is no better way than bonding over chai, right? Then that day in March, we were sipping morning coffee prepared by Sushant bhaiya. Suddenly, Swati asked all of us with concern: “did you see the news about a virus that came from China is now in India too?” Like from all over the world, the pandemic had come into our lives! Initial thoughts that this would be just another infection slowly faded. Then came the day when our management told us to not come to office for the next whole month – what a strange feeling. That day, after preparing everything for work from home, we ordered dinner at office and it turned into one of those evenings that we used to have as kids talking about this and that, ranging from favourite dishes to ghost stories. It was the last time we all ate together in 2020. Gratitude Toilet paper scarcity, social distancing, lockdown? After some time, we realized that it’s worth appreciating benefits in life while you have them. Meenakshi put it this way: “I realized value, value of friends, value of family, value of time, value of loved ones and most importantly, value of resources. I am sure I am not going to take it for granted ever again.” It’s fair to admit that at some point everyone in our team was either panicking, overthinking, sometimes exaggerating, or simply being scared. During our zoom meetings, Sonia often had to calm everyone down, growing into the role of goDiscover’s mother. Fear Many companies and start-ups had to close down during 2020 and everybody heard of friends and acquaintances losing jobs. goDiscover also took a hit with not a single sale for a whole month. But we stood together and managed the situation. Rising infection and death rates, worries about our parents, elders, and other family members, being inside all the time. Everything got very gloomy. And to make things even worse, some great talents of Bollywood who had given us hope and positivity for many years, passed away during this time. It’s among us! It still came as a shock when we learned that one of us had caught the virus. But Tarun recovered quickly and is happy that he came out stronger after beating COVID. But sadly, one of us lost a family member to the pandemic. Priyanshi who lost her mother-in-law feels that she will not be able to get over it. While she worries about her other relatives, most of us are also in constant fear as the pandemic really entered our lives. Evolving August brought us some smiles as our sales soared and a huge part of our worries seemed to be going away. We had adjusted to working from home and the overall difficult situation. Retail shops were opening again and we received particularly positive feedback from our customers combined with demand for more new and innovative products. Times were getting promising again. The ease of tensions also became obvious during our regular zoom meetings where everybody was more relaxed and even joking again. We were finding out new things about ourselves or getting hitched to new habits. Swati is now an avid reader even though she misses going to the gym. Vipul realized that keeping the family smiling and yourself happy is the key. Priyanshi is an expert cook now. And Nidhi got a new family and is getting hitched soon while Rajesh got himself hooked to online games! The new normal With the US elections dominating Indian media, a major shift in Indian tradition seemed to take place during fall: People were getting married in small, intimate gatherings for the first time ever. And a lot were taking advantage of it! Most of us attended zoom weddings as well. And for Diwali? Nobody was seeing any new place this year. Remember business travels? Now deeply missed. So much so that Nidhi, Swati and Priyanshi were changing their display pictures to previous year’s travel pictures. Last year, it took Rajesh a month to plan this years’ cancelled family outing to Manali – he will not plan another vacation in advance now! We celebrated the Diwali pooja on zoom, an integral part of our lives by now. And seeing the office temple and surrounding after so many months was sweet nostalgia. It felt like things were normal after a long time. It felt like things were fine for the first time. Come December, we had an epiphany – with a blink of an eye the year passed! We have been inside for almost this whole year. Laptops

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) exhibit repetitive behaviours. They also have difficulty with communication and social interaction. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 169 children have ASD. It is possible to diagnose ASDs by the age of 2. While some people can live independently with ASD, others require lifelong support and care. Life can get particularly challenging for parents with an ASD child. A child having ASD has a different way of perceiving communication. Everything is very literal for them. Communication style and a routine-based lifestyle is most important for an ASD child. Below are points to be incorporated in the teaching and learning process of children with ASD: Maintain an organized routine: A comfortable routine keeps ASD children calm and composed. Having a pre-decided time table and activity will be benefit the child. Meanwhile, make activities, topics on the board clear, organized and separated with broad lines. Preparation time for changes: For sudden changes give them a heads up. This way they are prepared and not panicked in this situation. Indeed mark the time table and slowly implement the change. Keep it organized and give them some time to prepare. Incorporate special interests: Children with ASD love to learn something special everyday. It keeps them busy and they are also learning something new. Hence mark such activities and come up with interesting way for them to do it. Encourage the child to learn more. You can also do role playing with them. Make them draw, speak the character voice, ignite there imagination in storytelling. You can also encourage them with bonus points and gift. Positive reinforcement: It is important to use only positive reinforcement. Negative reinforcement will usually create stress and cause children to shut down completely. Activity based learning: Use activity interactive learning techniques. When they do something with there hands, they are very keen. IT brings a joy. This approach is better than academic learning. Include learning tools that stimulate multiple senses that makes learning fun and interactive. Sensorial sensitivity: Children with ASD are sensitive to sensory stimuli. Sudden buzzing sounds, bright colours, flashy lights etc. are a big NO for such children. So, try and avoid such situations as far as possible. Communicate literally: Have you seen the character of ‘Sheldon Cooper’ from the web series Big bang theory?  Situations with ASD children can experience similar outbursts. Keep a direct soothing communication. Avoid sarcasm or negative talk. Sign boards and pictures are the best way to keep the communication clear. Social skill development: Every child loves to play. And playing is a social activity. But for ASD children this social interaction is challenging. Therefore, teachers and parents must closely support while encouraging ASD children in socializing and playing. Keep a fixed time for play. For instance, going to the park, interaction with a specific friend etc. must be on the timetable. Be patient: Many a times, it might look like the child is not listening to you. And it will frustrate you as a teacher and even as a parent. Here the ASD child understands and listens to you. They need time to process the information and react. Be patient and allow them time to explore. Finally, AHD children are special and unique with there own learning abilities. Giving them the right support helps them stay calm. Approach experts and come up with new learning methdologies. Recommendation: Dr. Harshita Misra (Founder & Clinical Head, Mom’s Belief Samvedna Centre). Recommendation: Dr. Harshita Misra (Founder & Clinical Head, Mom’s Belief Samvedna Centre).

What is cognitive skill? Well, apart from the physical differences, what makes us human, has much to do with advanced cognitive skills. Cognitive skills include the ability to listen, read, understand, analyse, relate, remember, and therfore be able to create or have a personal point of view. In a nutshell, cognition is all about our brain in action. When do children develop cognitive skills? Cognitive skill development is a gradual process that transpires right from the birth through to adult stage. Just like everything else, brain too takes time to learn, relate and yes, practice makes cognition flourish! According to Jean Piaget, a renowned theorist, there are 4 stages of cognition, which may vary from child to child. To give you the gist below are the 4 stages: Ages 0 to 2 At this stage, children explore their five senses i.e. see, hear, smell, taste and touch. Therefore, you see them eager to touch and explore everything and anything. They like to grab things and put them right into their mouths! This is where they start to develop habits and begin to get aware of themselves and their immediate surroundings. Ages 2 to 7 Here, children learn to speak and understand words, images, gestures and so on. Hence, they love role playing or play pretend which helps them gain experience. When they are 3 – 4 years old, their reasoning starts to develop and this is when they ask with tons of questions which helps them gain knowledge. Ages 7 to 11 By this stage, ‘logic’ becomes clearer. A child’s brain begins to sort and rearrange information and starts building concrete mental structures. He / she starts applying these in conversations, actions and thoughts. It is at this stage that the child becomes more self-aware. He / she starts accepting that others can also have a point of view which might be different from theirs. Ages 11 onwards At this stage, children begin to understand abstract concepts like success, failure, love, hate, compassion etc. They start making assumptions and are also capable of philosophical thinking. So, now that you have an idea of what and when cognitive skills develop in children, stay tuned for the next blog on ways of improving cognitive skills in your child. To check out our blog on: Why Listening to your child is important click here Find our products on Amazon.in

How can I listen to my child? We get frustrated when someone interrupts us when we speak, dont’ we? Or when the person we are communicating with is constantly on their phone. It’s normal to feel this way. We get annoyed but we move on. Now imagine your child experiencing the same. They are too young to just move on like us. Listening to them builds their sense of self, improves their emotional skills and instils confidence to speak their mind. Here are some practical tips to improve your listening skills towards your child: Committed attention When your child is talking, listen to them wholeheartedly. Leave whatever you are doing aside and be interested in what they have to say. You can do this by giving eye contact and bending to their level. Initiate conversation Often parents finish a child’s sentence or question or remark with a mere yes or no. Try to pitch in and further the conversation. Then they imagine further and learn new ways to add on to a conversation. They feel valued and heard. Make communication a routine Communicating is a way of life. Be it at the dining table, in the park, while playing and so on. Your child must feel comfortabe to come to you to share their feelings and emotions as well.  Exert body language Use body language to convey interest in what your child is saying. Nodding, smiling, being in the eye level while talking, maintaining eye contact, leaning forward, animated expressions are some ways you can express your interest in your child. Your child will also pick up the same example and reciprocate. Express empathy ‘I understand’, ‘That is so wonderful’, ‘I am sorry’, ‘That is funny’, ‘That sounds bad’ – this helps building empathy in your child. Important to note that empathy doesn’t mean passing judgement. If you are not happy with what your child has done or said, make them understand this by explaining why.