I read this article titled 'Dyslexia helped me learn to solve problems in Times of India. I was captivated by the title because it's an example of 'glass half full' or optimism. Most people tend to lose themselves to their disabilities and eventually fail to see that their disability is just a part of them. Shilpa Rao chose to overlook the negatives and accept her learning disability as a part of her life. Instead of letting her disability define her, she chose to learn from it and adapt to it. Something as trivial as reading out loud was a sweat breaker for her. "I was a slow reader and couldn’t do simple math. I would write b for bat on my hand so I would know the difference between b and d" she says in her interview with Times of India. “I’ve always painted my nails on my left hand to identify left from right,” she says, in the same interview. Read the whole article here: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/dyslexia-helped-me-learn-to-solve-problems/articleshow/87906641.cms When she began her career in TCS in London, she noticed food packets thrown away because packages shipped contained a larger quantity of the product than needed. That was when she started working on her idea by working on an algorithm to optimize merchandising. This idea has now grown to be known as Optumera and has been implemented in the fashion and food sectors. She's now based in Chennai helping young girls with some of the most in-demand skills right now- AI, data science, Machine Learning, and Analytics. From struggling with reading to developing an algorithm to help thousands, Shilpa has come a long way. She has always been full of ideas for problem-solving; from painting her nails to tell left from right to writing 'b for bat' to differentiate between b and d, she used her disability to her advantage. Do you have any traits that you've used to your advantage?

Last week I came across this article on the Times of India app that I thought was so inspiring that I must share it with everyone I can. The news article focused on a 12-year-old child from Gurgaon, Aryan Debnath, who designed an app to help all autistic and other special needs children to communicate. Aryan is himself a part of the autistic spectrum community which has affected his ability to speak. The article says that Aryan took online coding lessons to learn about app designing. Apparently, he was always keen on learning; especially about science. But sadly since people aren't sensitized about autism, it was hard for him to get started. I think stories like these are enough for us to believe that nothing is unachievable. It is enough to shut down anyone who says one cannot do something because of their illness or disorders. There will be hiccups along the way, sure, but nothing that can't be overcome. For autistic children, it can be hard to understand emotions or communicate with others, or even understand their daily routine. So Aryan incorporated different tools and techniques he uses in his daily life to help other autistic children. The app also has safety and anti-bullying features. It's really a wonder to see how a 12-year-old boy designed an app thinking about all the challenging aspects of his life in hopes that it would help others lead a better life. You can read the article here: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/gurgaon-boy-with-autism-designs-app-to-help-other-autistic-children/articleshow/87913123.cms What other features do you think such apps should include? I think it can eventually include tips for studying or a mood tracker for the child to understand more about emotions.