October 24, 2005

Autistic child in Evergreen just needs some friends

By Bea Baechle
Editor

Evergreen Hills resident Madhuri Jagadeesh has just one wish for her 11-year-old son Sai: a few Evergreen children willing to play with him.

Sai Jagadeesh, a high-functioning, 11-year-old autistic boy who lives in Evergreen, enjoys working on puzzles.

This may seem like a simple request, yet for the mother of an autistic child, it’s a common one. Jagadeesh is reaching out to the Evergreen community in hopes of dispelling some misconceptions and creating awareness of the needs of autistic children.

“Most parents seem uncomfortable having their kids play with Sai,” says Jagadeesh, “but your child could learn important life skills—to be patient and tolerant of others who are different. They can learn to empathize with people who are less efficient or organized.”

For children who may have some self esteem issues, Jagadeesh also feels that playing with Sai could help boost their own self esteem by making a difference in the life of another child.

Sai, a very “high-functioning” autistic child, is quite happy just playing by himself—doing puzzles, reading, watching TV or playing on the computer. He also likes to ride his bike and rollerblade outdoors. At the YMCA, he enjoys swimming.

Jagadeesh says that Sai presents himself well and seems like a typical kid at first, but if you stick around for a bit longer, you will see that there’s something different about him.

He simply doesn’t have the skills to relate well to others.

“If your child is behind in math, you can hire a tutor. If your child is having difficulty playing with others, it’s something he needs to be taught,” says Jagadeesh.

To assist him, Sai spends time with his parents and with therapists using a successful methodology called Applied Behavioral Analysis. One day a week he also works with speech therapists at the Center for Social Thinking, where they teach him social cognitive skills and concepts for communicating better—thinking with the eyes, body and brain—and simply staying “connected.”

“The skills he learns there is something he has to apply to real-life situations,” says Jagadeesh, but the challenge for Sai is this: he has a hard time making friends in his special education class at Evergreen Elementary School, because he’s at a higher functioning level than most.

Put him in a regular class, however, and he would require too much of the teacher’s attention, according to Jagadeesh, so he doesn’t really “fit in” in either group. She realizes that he will probably need to be in special education classes throughout high school, and she’s not sure if he’ll make it to college.

But for now, he just needs some friends! Although a couple of children recently moved into the neighborhood, and who like to come over and play with Sai, Jagadeesh is looking for a few Evergreen kids willing to participate in “play therapy”—structured play in a safe, controlled environment for about 30 minutes at a time, once a week. With this “practice,” Jagadeesh feels confident that Sai will need less and less supervision over time.

“Parents can only do so much. Sai just needs some friends,” she added.

If you are a parent willing to have your kids play with Sai or a local student interested in earning some community service hours, contact Madhuri Jagadeesh at (408) 223-2652 in the evenings and on weekends or e-mail her at jagmad@pacbell.net.

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