A story session and hope it brings.

This entry is going to serve just as a memoir for a satisfying and lovely short session I had with Tuhina today. I hope this will be a reminder to me of her potential when the days are not as good and I have doubts in where we are heading to.

I read a ‘Pete the cat’ book to Tuhina. Pete the cat was wearing shoes which get covered with different colors and ultimately get wet, but Pete remains happy and continues singing. All the while of reading the story, Tuhina was lost, avoiding, not attending, leading to my frustration. And then I asked a few questions to her, giving her written choices. I decided not to say the words aloud as I wanted to see if she can read the words herself. Here's how she did -

Me: Tuhina, do you know what is this? ( showing the book)

Toy           Pen        Book 

Tuhina selects: book

Me: who is this story about?

Cat.        Dog.        Rat

Tuhina selects: cat

Me: what is the name of the cat?

Willy.        Pete.       Tom

Tuhina selects:  Pete

Me: what is Pete wearing in the story?

Shirt.        Pant.         Shoes

Tuhina selects: shoes

Me: what happened to his shoes when they went into water. They got….

Dry.      Wet

Tuhina selects:  wet

Me: what did Pete continue to do after they became dirty and wet? He

Sing.   Dance

Tuhina selects: dance

Me: No, he was singing. Pointed to correct answer.

Me: so what do you think how Pete was feeling?

Happy        Angry.     Sad

Tuhina selects: sad.

Me: think again. He was singing

Tuhina selects: happy

Me: did you like the story?

Yes.      No

Tuhina selects: yes

Me: do you want me to read it to you again?

Yes.      No

Tuhina selects: no 

I wish I could have taken a video☺️. I hope to one day have a conversation with her just like I can have with any other person, a conversation where I don't just give her choices but she is able to say what she wants to in her own words.