March 26, 2014

How a Mother Nurtured her Son's Hidden Genius

This Mother Tore Off Labels And Nurtured Her Son’s Hidden Genius

By Stephanie Broadhurst/The Mother List
Here’s an incredible story about a mother who totally disregarded what experts said about her son and threw off the label that was slapped on him as a toddler. Instead, she followed her own instincts – with astounding results.
Kristine Barnett’s son Jacob was diagnosed with autism when he was 2, and doctors said he would never speak. She tried special education programs and therapies aimed at addressing his limitations. When teachers told her there was no hope, she rebelled and took her own path.
“A lot of people thought that I had lost my mind,” she recalls.
Instead of focusing on Jacob’s limitations, Kristine nurtured his interests. Now her 15-year-old son is on track to win a Nobel Prize for his work in theoretical physics.
Relying on the insights she developed at her in-home daycare, Kristine resolved to follow Jacob’s “spark” — his passionate interests. Why concentrate on what he couldn’t do? Why not focus on what he could? This philosophy, along with her belief in the power of childhood play, helped her son grow in incredible ways.
“He liked repetitive behaviors. He would play with a glass and look at the light, twisting it for hours on end. Instead of taking it away, I would give him 50 glasses, fill them with water at different levels and let him explore,” she says. “I surrounded him with whatever he loved.”
The more she did that, the more it worked. Then one night, as he was being tucked in, Jacob spoke. “It was like music … because everybody had said it was an impossible thing,” Kristine recalls.”I would tuck him in every night and say, ‘Goodnight, baby Jacob, you’re my baby angel, and I love you very much.’ One night he looked me straight in the eyes and said, ‘Night-night baby bagel.’ All along he must have thought I had been calling him a bagel!”
Jacob is now a student of theoretical physics at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario, with an IQ measured to be higher than Einstein’s.
Kristine chronicles her son’s incredible journey and breakthrough in her book “The Spark: A Mother’s Story of Nurturing, Genius, and Autism.”
When she talks to other moms who have children on the spectrum, ADHD, learning disorders, or other disabilities, she tells them: “It’s really important that when you have a label, you don’t let that label define you. What are your children good at? Let that define them. Create motivations that are self-driven. Let them pursue what they love.”
“As parents, we know in our hearts what our kids need,” she says, “and we need to trust that a little more. Even if that goes against what others are saying.”

Reblogged via : The Mother List

March 19, 2014

Why buying a car is a bad decision?

Cars are depreciating assets. In fact, if you buy them on a loan, as far as I am concerned they are a liability.

Suppose you want to buy a car today.
It will cost you approximately Rs. 5 lacs (assuming a small size medium range car)
5 years down the line value = Rs. 2 lacs (at best)

Instead, if you invest the same money in an asset (anything from FD or PPF to Gold or Bonds)
Investment today = Rs. 5 lacs
Assuming a 8% ROI & neglecting taxes,
5 years down the line, value = 7.34 lacs

Difference = Rs. 5.34 lacs that is you have a difference sufficient to buy a new car. (Not that you should)

Jewelry is a better expense than cars anyday, as it has some inherent value attached to it, but I still don't recommend jewelry as an investment.

So, if you have a good public transportation system, use it. You can save a lot of money by not buying a car.
& that is what I want anybody who is seeking my vote in the coming election, to do. Make a good, reliable, safe & hygienic public transportation system in Jaipur.

March 18, 2014

What has humanity come down to?

Today I was crossing the road & there was this poor lady (who looked physically distorted) trying to get passerby's attention.
But so many people passed her without even looking at her.
She wasn't begging for money, she was asking someone to buy her an asthma medicine (an empty bottle of which she held in her hand)
& people passed by as if she did not even exist.

What has mankind fallen to if we are not compassionate to fellow human beings?

March 16, 2014

Why don't Mac & Windows agree on some basic keyboard shortcuts?

Such as
Opening a file
Renaming a file
Going to a parent folder
Going to a child folder
.
.
.
It would make life so much simpler. & they can still keep their fancy things such as pinch to zoom & multi finger swipes in Mac & alt-ctrl-del & the windows key in PC.

March 10, 2014

Why Learning is Important when you can Google Everything

Most of us can remember formulae, etc., or google most of the stuff we talk about in class. But the one thing you cannot google is how to think.
- Professor Kaul

March 9, 2014

Kyle's Valedictorian Speech will Restore Your Faith in Humanity



The Story Of Kyle

...
One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class walking home from school.  His name was Kyle.  It looked like he was carrying all of his books.  I thought to myself, “Why would anyone bring home all his books on Friday?  He must really be a nerd.”

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.  As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.  His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.  He looked up, and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.