Autism ADHD Doctor Mumbai india Dr SV Kondekar

Regression in Autism: Understanding Developmental Regression and Its Difference from Neurodegeneration Regression is one of the most misunderstood phenomena in child development. Parents may say, “My child was developing normally and then suddenly went backward.” They may blame the television. They may blame the mobile phone. They may blame a medicine. They may blame themselves. Sometimes, however, what is called regression is not actually regression at all. A child may simply be developing new autistic behaviours that become increasingly visible with age. Conversely, genuine loss of previously acquired skills can be an important neurological sign and should not automatically be labelled as autism. Dr Kondekar suggests that the first step is therefore to define exactly what we mean by regression. Regression means loss, not merely difference True developmental regression means that a child loses a skill that had previously been established. A child who had been consistently using meanin...

अक्षरों से पहले रिश्तों की ABCD सीखिए: बच्चे को परिवार से जोड़ना ही असली शुरुआत है हम अक्सर बच्चे को सिखाने की शुरुआत अक्षरों, संख्याओं, रंगों, आकारों और वस्तुओं के नामांपासून करतो. “A for Apple”, “B for Ball”, “मम्मी बोलो”, “पापा बोलो”, “यह क्या है?”—ऐसी गतिविधियाँ सीखने का हिस्सा हो सकती हैं। लेकिन एक अधिक मूलभूत प्रश्न है: क्या बच्चे ने पहले अपने आसपास के लोगों को पहचानना, समझना और उनसे भावनात्मक रूप से जुड़ना सीखा है? Dr Kondekar कहते हैं कि बच्चे के लिए “माँ” केवल एक शब्द नहीं है। माँ एक व्यक्ति है—जिसकी अपनी आवाज, चेहरा, स्पर्श, भावनाएँ, पसंद-नापसंद और बच्चे के जीवन में एक विशिष्ट भूमिका है। इसी तरह पिता केवल “पापा” शब्द नहीं, बल्कि सुरक्षा, सहभागिता, खेल, बातचीत और संबंध का अनुभव हैं। दादा-दादी, भाई-बहन और परिवार के अन्य सदस्य भी केवल नाम सीखने की वस्तुएँ नहीं हैं। वे बच्चे की सामाजिक दुनिया के वास्तविक पात्र हैं। इसलिए सीखने की शुरुआत केवल “यह क्या है?” से नहीं, बल्कि “यह कौन है, मेरे लिए क्या है और इसके साथ मेरा रिश्ता क्या है?” से भी होनी चाहिए। पहले Family ABCD, फिर Alphabet...

When an Autistic Child Does Not Look or Listen: How to Build Attention Before Demanding Language When parents say, “My child does not look at me and does not listen to what I say,” the immediate temptation is to repeatedly call the child’s name, demand eye contact, or increase the volume of instructions. But effective communication development requires a more fundamental question: Has the child actually become available for the information being presented? Dr. Santosh Kondekar emphasizes a developmental sequence: “Do not chase the child’s eyes. Build the child’s attention.” And, in the framework proposed by Dr. Kondekar: “Input → Awareness → Attention → Recognition → Meaning → Cognition → Communication.” This sequence places listening and meaningful attention before expecting sophisticated expressive language. Importantly, looking directly at a communication partner is not synonymous with listening. Some autistic children may attend to spoken information without sustained e...

If the therapeutic goal is to improve body steadiness rather than continually promoting movement, the child can use that stable body state as a platform for much broader learning. The important distinction is: movement is not inherently bad; unnecessary, repetitive movement should not become the default way of occupying the child. A useful framework for autism therapy could be: STEADY BODY → STEADY ATTENTION → BETTER INPUT → AWARENESS → RECOGNITION → MEANING → COGNITION → COMMUNICATION Once the body is reasonably settled, you can teach: 1. Listening Listen to name being called Listen to instructions Listen to stories Listen to descriptions of objects and people Listen to conversations without immediately acting Identify important sounds from background sounds 2. Looking and visual attention Look at an object that is being discussed Watch another person's action Follow a pointing gesture Notice changes in the environment Find an object among several objects Observe what another pers...

Dr Kondekars helps in understanding and tackling same. If an autistic child has learned to throw a tantrum whenever an activity is introduced, I would conceptualize the problem slightly differently from the “give me an object” situation. The child may have learned: ACTIVITY PRESENTED → TANTRUM → ADULT STOPS/DELAYS ACTIVITY → CHILD ESCAPES Over time, the child can learn that tantrum is an effective escape/avoidance communication. The therapeutic target is therefore not simply “stop tantrums.” It is: ACTIVITY → TOLERATE → START → COMPLETE A SMALL PART → SUCCESS → BREAK A practical protocol: 1. Start much smaller than the child can currently tolerate. Don't begin with a 20-minute task. Begin with perhaps 10–30 seconds or one very easy response. 2. Use a predictable signal. “First activity, then break.” A visual FIRST → THEN card can be useful. 3. Give the child a functional escape request. Teach one response such as “break,” “help,” “finished,” or a corresponding picture/AAC symbol. T...

IMPULSIVENESS it may be just begining of ADHD ,OR JUST A TANTRUM OR STUBBORNNESS USUALLY, or a controlling behaviour. here are some tips Dr Kondekar tried to help with repeatedly demanding different things, insisting that the parent comply, and then hitting when the demand is refused—is not simply a “therapy problem.”  I would treat it as a specific learned communication/behaviour pattern that needs a fresh functional assessment rather than simply adding more therapies. The important question is: “What does the child obtain by asking repeatedly and hitting?” In autism, aggression can function as communication. It may obtain an object/activity, adult attention, escape from a demand, or control over what happens next. If hitting reliably produces the desired outcome, the child can learn that “hitting works.” What I would do at home Do not try to stop every request. Instead, separate requesting from controlling . For example: Child: “Mobile! Mobile! Mobile!” Parent: “Ask on...

 “Vibhuti Yoga” using the idea of the Bhagavad Gita’s  chapter 10, Vibhuti Yoga—recognising the special qualities and manifestations present in oneself, other people, living beings and the surrounding world— पहले “मैं” को महसूस करना → फिर “तुम” को पहचानना → फिर “हम” को समझना → फिर “दुनिया” से जुड़ना। For many autistic children, the difficulty is not simply lack of speech. There may be inadequate awareness of self, body, other people, changes in the environment, sensory information and the relationship between actions and consequences. Therefore, intervention can deliberately move from self-awareness → people-awareness → environmental awareness → shared awareness. Vibhuti Yoga concept for autism  click to see the video 1. मैं हूँ — Awareness of Self Begin with the child's own body and actions. यह मेरा हाथ है। यह मेरा पैर है। मैं बैठा हूँ। मैं चल रहा हूँ। मैं देख रहा हूँ। मैं सुन रहा हूँ। मुझे अच्छा लग रहा है। मुझे परेशानी हो रही है। मैंने यह किया। मेरे करने से यह हुआ। The ...

Autism: Beyond the Label — Understanding the Communication Chaos Autism is not just a problem of speech or eye contact. These are only some of the visible manifestations of a much larger developmental difference. At its core, autism can be understood as a condition in which the brain processes, integrates and communicates information differently. The difficulty may affect communication with other people, communication between different parts of the body, integration between different senses and actions, and the ability to use these skills for age-appropriate everyday activities. The degree of difficulty can vary enormously from one child to another. One child may have relatively mild difficulties in one area and profound difficulties in another. Therefore, autism should never be understood as a single, uniform condition. Think of the brain as a huge communication network. There are countless neural pathways carrying information between the brain, the senses, the muscles, emotions,...