Symptoms of Autism spectrum disorders.

Part of my Developmental Psych Assignment (written in high school)

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Symptoms of Autism spectrum disorders.

For a child to receive the diagnosis of ASD under DSM-V, the child must meet 2 criteria.

1) deficits in social communication and social interaction and

2) restricted repetitive behaviors, interests, and activities (RRBs).

Because both components are required for the diagnosis of ASD, Social Communication Disorder is diagnosed if no RRBs are present.

Communication deficits and restrictive behaviors can often result in challenging behaviors.  Autism is a spectrum disorder meaning that it can range from very severe (non-speaking and/or challenging behaviors) to very almost indistinguishable from peers (verbal with slight deficits in social skills etc). Some individuals can be very gifted in a particular area and they are called Savants. The textbook is actually inaccurate in equating Savants with Aspergers (Aspies) as Savants range in their level of symptoms across the board from mild to significant. An example is the severely autistic Stephen Wiltshire who is nonspeaking and lives in London. Stephen can reproduce entire cityscape views in his paintings after just having seen them aerially for a few minutes from a helicopter. Another example of a savant is from the movie Rainman.

As a person who is pretty severely affected by autism, I have to disagree with a lot of what the author states about autism.  For example Berger in page 275 states,  “Children with any form of autism find it hard to understand emotions… do not want to interact with anyone.. do not understand romantic love .. slow to develop a theory of mind.”  Such broad generalizations are misleading and do not result in effective treatment. I believe the issue is one of communication challenges which make it hard to develop coping mechanisms that typical people use to be able to react in a socially appropriate way. Cognitively understanding an issue should not be confused with sensory-motor execution of a task, which is the observable behavior. I also feel very strongly about the lack of Theory of Mind and Autism and I hope to do more research down the line to debunk this theory. The problem is that when such broad generalizations are used in textbooks, the resultant students come out with a mindset that is not open to other possibilities and the affected autistic individuals suffer from ‘more of the same.’ I’ve had therapist after therapist work with me who seemed to have their head stuck in the sand because that is what they were taught about how autism should be. The kids who don’t fit the mindset profile of autism are written off as unable to improve.

 What do we know about the causes of Autism?

It’s been 16 years since my ASD dx, I’m nowhere close to a breakthrough, so the answer is that we don’t know nearly enough about the causes - there just seems to be too much confusion and too much debate. The fact that its a spectrum disorder makes it all the harder - it’s like searching for a single solution to 100,000 problems. Every breakthrough helps a fraction of the population, the ones that fit that cure’s physiological profile.

 Explanations for the rapid rise in Autism numbers in the US in recent years.

Almost 6% of special education students in the US have the ASD dx and another 6% as developmentally delayed.

A few guesses for rise in numbers

1.    Changes in criteria between DSM-IV and DSM-V means that  ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) now includes

• Aspergers. Diagnosis formely given to folks with no intellectual disability and no language deficits. The aspie community is apparantely unhappy about being clubbed with autism and consider it a major downgrade.
•  PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder- Not otherwise specified). A dx usually give to more individuals who did not meet all the Autism criteria.
• Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. Dx given to kids who developed normally till age 3 then regressed.
• Mental Retardation is now often called severe autism or intellectual disability.

2.    Early intervention: The word autism is ubiquitous in mainstream media and most new parents are aware that it is a serious childhood disorder. So many parents push pediatricians / neurologists or developmental psychologists to give them an ASD diagnosis if there is even the slightest sign of some developmental delay as they want to access to and start early intervention services. Professionals on their part also want to be proactive as early intervention can make a significant difference for many kids. Even children who would have been considered speech delayed in the past are thus getting the ASD diagnosis.  There are thus greater number of diagnosed kids. This also means there are great numbers of children who are ‘recovering’ from autism because this specific subgroup needed only that early timely intervention, which lets them overcome that hump.

3.    Educational Dx. Many school districts classify children as ASD so that they can fit into existing special education classroom models. Many kids with Cerebral Palsy and similar issues progress to an ASD diagnosis as they improve their physical symptoms. For example, my friend had severe CP (umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, cutting off oxygen flow) at birth. But with intensive therapy, he learned to walk by around age 6-7. His school district changed his dx to autism so that he could be put in an autism classroom rather than the one for CP kids who were wheelchair users.

4.    Access to Services. Till age 22, autistic children are covered by IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act) which theoretically allows special education services like behavior modification, LRE (least restrictive environment) classroom, smaller classrooms, higher staff ratio extra coaching (resource) and a few other safeguards. A diagnosis of ADHD on the other hand, may not qualify for special education services under IDEA and may only qualify for Section 504 of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). So some parents may push for the ASD diagnosis as it will give their child the extra support which they may not otherwise receive.

5.    Then there are the reported cases of some parents who seek the diagnosis, as it gives their child extra advantages and preferences in terms of individualized learning, testing accommodations etc. This is unfortunate in some ways and could well be heresay, which makes the topic somewhat controversial.

6.    When services are deemed better in a particular location, it naturally draws people from other countries to that place seeking those services for their developmentally disabled child. That child may not have received the ASD dx in the home country due to lack or knowledge or other factors.  This naturally increases the ASD numbers. Both Australia and Canada do not allow a non-citizen child with a disability to enter or their country. News articles have highlighted case of immigrant parents who were asked by Australia to leave their disabled child behind in their native country. Luckily the USA is far more humane and does not impose such restrictions. Similarly non-Canadian citizen with disabilities cannot live in Canada. Essentially I would not be allowed to live in Canada or Australia despite being born in the US and a US citizen.

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Comments
Wow, this is really great. I like how you debunk popular theories about autism.
I hope you write more and more articles in the future. - From Little Hari Balaji

A Kayaking I Go

To say that I am fascinated with water is an understatement. Given a choice, I would live right by an ocean beach or a lake front, where I could see the water all day long. 


Water sports just seem so much more fun than land sports. So when I was asked if I wanted to try Kayaking, I was all agog. My family had been kayaking in Kauai, and rafting on the American River and Rogue River, but I was always a passenger and not an active participant. The DSA instructors had been great with teaching me to ski last winter and this time, they were going to teach me to paddle a kayak. 

Day 1 - Donner Lake 

Day 1 was at the north end of Donner Lake. I was recruited to carry not one but 2 kayaks from the parking lot to the beach along with Michael Hunter. I did have to keep putting down the kayaks a number of times as i had never done this before and the handles do chaff your hands after a bit. In my case, it was more like dropping the kayak, rather than setting them down gently, given my impulsive body, but hopefully i will improve with practice. 

Gary and Michael  were my main instructors for the 3 hour lesson. Its always a bit of a challenge trying to teach someone with my combo of strengths and challenges, a task that requires a good deal of motor organization. So while i perfectly understood Michael's instruction to hold up the paddle with my elbows at 90 degree angle, when it came to the actual motor implementation of this seemingly simple instruction, i was at sea. I could visually imagine my arms up there in that 90 degree, but outwardly, i was restoring to my default stimming behavior, especially when the motor muscles cannot figure out what to do. And there was plenty to stim on as i was surrounded by some gorgeous scenery. 

There were other issues as well. I could not hold the paddle properly for instance and kept dropping it. It is one long black handle, with pink paddles at either end, so where exactly does one put one's hands. It would slide and one side would become longer than the other. Michael first tried to put some kind of fat grip  one one side so that i would have a guide at least for one hand. But the issue with the grip is that its feels a little mismatched in addition to becoming loose. So while one side had a place marker, the other hand did not, so that hand kept sliding all over the place, But the absolutely great thing about the DSA instructors is that they keep trying different things rather than give up. Michael came up with the idea of using 2 rubber tire strips and fastening them on the paddles with plastic tie downs. Now there were 2 grips in which to slide my fingers and grip the paddle. There was less need then for me to worry about how and where to grip the paddles, which helped with the organization. Of course my sensory system still found loopholes on which to stim on - one of the strips was slightly twisted and i kept trying to fix that - a totally unnecessary activity on my part. 

 We had to figure out how to get me to paddle. Finally we figured out that we could do a left-right and 1-2 verbal instruction to help me keep the rhythm.  Voila, the kayak was moving under my own steam without any physical help. The left side of the paddle went into the water, pushed back the water, followed by the same action on the right. i imagined a giant turtle swimming by me - it lifted one big flipper, pushed the water, then lifted its other flipper to do the same. Then it flipped over on its back and did the same. all the while the turtle wagged its tiny tail, saying "how can this not be fun?"

 There I was, paddling to the chant of Gary's 1-2. Now that's progress! I was totally totally thrilled. Though all that paddling was tiring, i was kayaking on my own steam on an absolutely beautiful lake. What more can one ask for?  I can only get better with practice. I have to learn things like steering rather than just propelling the kayak forward etc. At the end of the current lesson, i had to paddle my kayak back to shore and drag my kayak up on the beach as well. The team and nature all cheered for me. Dad gave my effort and performance an A+ and I was promised a dinner at  a restaurant of my choice when i got back. 

6/21/14 Kayak @ Donner Lake Photos

Day 2 - Lake Tahoe

Day 2 began at the Tahoe Vista Recreation Area on the north shore of the Lake Tahoe. I had been boating with my cousin bro Arjun,  2 summers back on Lake Tahoe. We had gone all the way to Emerald Bay from the south shore. Lake Tahoe is absolutely massive and equally awesome, The waters start from a light green near the shore to a ocean blue as its depth increases. When you are in well in the middle of the lake, it almost feels like you are on an ocean, with its choppy waves, except you can see the distant mountainous shore all around. In the bright sun, the far shores turn a mysterious gray blue. Marina from DSA, lives right by the lake - OMG, how fantastic is that! - to see such views night and day, all year long.

I helped carry one kayak down to the beach this time with Danielle. (The not-dropping part is still a work in progress.) Day 2 was a kayak adventure tour of almost 3 hours. A group of some dozen people set out - participants and instructors. We set off around 9:45 and came back only at 1pm.  I was on a 2 person kayak this time, with Gary in front. The DSA staff were hoping that i would copy Gary in front of me and paddle accordingly. In retrospect, i think  it will be better for me to be in the front, so that the instructor can keep verbally reminding me to stay on task. I did keep getting distracted and kept stopping my paddling of  the kayak. Once I start to stim, its like a runaway train and hard for me to get back on track on my own. 

 I was pretty tired after the previous day's activity as well. 

I was surrounded by beauty, I was afloat on beauty. All I had to do was stretch out my hand, and i was touching beauty. The sun rays pierced the water, turning it into a rainbow spectrum. The wind added its caress and expressed itself as waves that lapped at the kayak. The water responded with a  sigh that was deep blue; total bliss and contentment.

The sensory systems of the entire group was exhilarated and we all basked in the arms of mother nature. In my case, however this outwardly translates to more stimming. I rocked and made verbal noises. There was so much visual stimulation (of the good kind), but still a lot for my sensory system to process comfortably. I do wish some medical researcher would  find some clues that would help reduce the stimming, and soon. I am so tired of this constant, almost involuntary, stimming behavior.

Our route hugged the shore all the way to Crystal Bay, where the casinos are. Looking at the shore from the water is a totally interesting perspective. You pass other boats headed for deeper waters as well as other kayakers. You see people on shore and they look like action figures walking around. You see boat docks and buildings. Tom came all they way on a paddle board with a single oar. That looked interesting. You have to stand the whole time, so I guess a good deal of balance is called for. Maybe if I get better at the kayak, I can learn paddle board too in the future.

Thanks DSA for taking the time to teach me. 
I have to agree with my friend the turtle and say, "How can this not be too much fun?"

6/22/14 Kayak @ Lake Tahoe Photos 1

6/22/14 Kayak @ Lake Tahoe Photos 2

Reflections on Jean Paul Sartre

While on one level, Sartre's philosophy may be a call to self-determination, and I could see some justice in some of his observations. But it was also very depressing to say the least, especially his comment “"Every existing thing is born without reason, prolongs itself out of weakness, and dies by chance." It made our lives seem so meaningless and worthless. 

I just now finished working on a volunteer project for India Literacy Project. My job was translating their number filled field study reports into reader friendly web content.  (Link to writeup) The current initiative focuses on the educating the children of migrant workers in the brick kiln industry in a specific district in southern India covering some 100 kilns and 15000 families. It will be based on a successful model carried out in a neighboring district last year.

However, what I learnt about their lives was shocking and somewhat Dickensian. The workers stay inside the kilns for 5-7 months and work 12-14 hours a day including 7 hours at night. Given this, do they get any time to think about education for their children. Governmental education schemes exist, but they are too far away, or the teachers don’t like all the brick dust the kids bring, in addition to the kids being present only for 5 months in the school year.  So why push for their education right? So more often than not, these children are roaming around in a very unhealthy and dangerous brick kiln environment, babysitting each other, or becoming child labor, so that they can help their parents pay off the advance amounts borrowed from middlemen. So education models for these child would have to cover a number of issues including the continuity of education throughout the school year.

Which brought to mind the seasonal nature of agriculture in the US. Are there similar issues regarding the education of the children of these migrant agri workers?  I realized that I  know very little about them, other than what may have been mentioned in my school history books. Cesar Chavez himself was in and out of school many times wasn’t he? But he barely made it to half a page in my US history textbook.

The next thought was how to link these issues to statements made by Sartre which essentially says that we have the power to transform ourselves. How can  people caught in the perpetual cycle of poverty and illiteracy transform themselves. What is the existent reality of such folks? Or are they doomed, as Sartre proclaims, “Life begins on the other side of despair?”

The Logic and the Absurd

The Logic and the Absurd

In his essay, Will to Believe, William James essentially asserts that there is great value in what he calls our passional tendencies, which may flavor the choices we make.  He contends that where there is willingness to act, there is a will to believe.  Pure logic can’t dictate our beliefs and faith is sensible. Science should not discredit these in a knee jerk reaction by yelling, “There is no Evidence,” for everything cannot be explained by science. Au contraire, if we look for absolute answers, we will close our minds to furthering our inquiry of the truth. Religion is a therefore very much a live hypothesis for James; a live hypothesis being measured by an individual’s willingness to act. Faith or belief becomes an extension, in the sense that it is a “willingness to act irrevocably.” James’ essay is an attempt, "to defendour right to adopt a believing attitude in religious matters, in spite of the fact that our logical intellect may not be coerced."

A Hand at Skiing

I wondered….

Fresh snow under naked toes

Dream-like feeling that only snow knows

Oh Yes..!

scrunch of puff-balls

A delightful sensation I cannot fake

crystals, hexagonal lattice

hydrogen bonds shatter under

crunch...

Oh No...!

its COLD

Despite my perceived relish, I must confess

Definitely

Naked toes in snow are not the best

....no naked toes...

Skiing...

For that, I will be back...

A Hand at Skiing

Skiing has totally got to be the most fun sport (after jet ski!) and I just looove it. I’ve been asked to try it for a couple of years now, but my fear of falling kept me back. My impressions had been built up by the those guys zooming down near vertical slopes so I had made up my mind that such activities belonged strictly in the realm of TV watching and Winter Olympics.

Last winter, however, I was bulldozed into skiing, My cousin Arjun had tried at Thanksgiving and he reported that though falling was inevitable, it was super fun. Janna told me I was confusing the black diamond slope with the beginner slopes which were relatively user friendly. In Dec 2011, my parents had taken me to the Heavenly Ski Resort, as part of a Tahoe trip, and made me watch some of the beginners learning. I was given a parade of examples of other kids who’s tried and were enjoying it. Willy nilly, it became clear that I would end up on those ski slopes.  But it was still with some trepidation that i agreed to give it a try. It was already March 2013, the end of the ski season, so the weather was warmer. But maybe that was better for this nervous nube. A day trip was planned to Tahoe and Alpine Meadows Ski Slopes where DSA held lessons.

Ski rentals were the agenda after checking in at the DSA office at Alpine Meadows. How on earth was I going to manage all these  apparatus was the thought in my mind. Motor planning has been a weak point, which attempts at coordinating those bollywood dance steps had so aptly demonstrated, so how was I going to coordinate these elongated extensions, in addition to coordinating my hands and feet.  Ski boots are HEAVY and very difficult to put on. Walking with those heavy boots was, well, difficult but then I found, they were not so bad as well. I often do have a body-space disconnect, and the heavy ski boots were kind of grounding for me, which felt good. On the other hand, stiff as they are, ski boots are not the most comfortable of footwear, so i was very conscious of the weighty things that hung around my ankles. To add to it all, I was told that I need to carry my skis too. Wasn’t I already carrying around 2-3 pounds at my ankles? Now I had to carry around 2-3 pounds on my shoulders too!

I had 2 instructors and they took me onto the snow. They helped put the skis on and we did some  warm up exercises for some time. I had to learn what to do with the elongations attached to my feet. How do I manipulate each foot. Would I even be able to balance? I had fully expected to fall right away and go sliding and gliding all the way to kingdom come. Au Contraire, to my surprise, I was able to balance reasonably well (and I had 2 instructors to help). It kind of felt like the times I’d been roller skating many years ago. Before I knew it, I was being led in the direction of the Subway ski lift. It was good that I was not given time to think, the immediate task was to get me seated on the ski chair. The instructors had the operator slow the chair down, which made it easy for me to get on.

I watched the ground disappear beneath my feet as we rode up the ski chair. Dad and Mom waved and shouted encouragement from below. Cameras clicked busily. The bigger trick is to get off the lift at the other end without falling, it does not slow down there. Dad had talked a lot about falling off at the other end; I most definitely did not look forward to the falling off the lift. There is a little slope where you have to get off, I got up, and viola, landed on my feet. My skis slid the few feet that slope to the plateau, but I was still very much on my feet. Success!

At the top of the Subway Lift and just by the Meadows Lift,  is a snow travelator, called a magic carpet and we practiced on it for a while. The slope next to it is very gentle and so you go up the carpet and ski down. I was put through the paces. Confidence grew!

I got ready for my first downhill skiing. The subway slope is a beginner slope but then I was still only the beginner of beginners. The slope loomed down, my muscles murmured, “it must be a 80 degree slope,” though my rational mind scoffed at that thought, and attempted to correct the degree accordingly. The instructors used a  kind of harness which helped me be independent yet kept the instructor in control, should the need arise. It must look funny to the onlookers eye. I felt like a reindeer, who stood next to Santa on the snow. A tie of sorts between my 2 skis kept my skis parallel. The goal was to get me to go down the slope without worrying about skis going awry. Down I flew, the World War 2 flying ace. OMG! It was a total rush! The instructors were on either side of me the entire time. No wonder this sport is so well loved. I got to ride the ski lift and ski down quite a few times for the remainder of the lesson.

I was back 2 weeks later for another lesson. It was March 31st and the ski resort itself was closing down. The crowds had thinned down. I still had the tie which kept my 2 skis parallel like two french fries, but this time there was no harness. Instead I held onto one end of the pole, while the other end was held by the instructor and we skied parallely. So there was even more independence as I zoomed down the Subway slope and rode up the Ski Lift. We practiced on the magic carpet too.  Mom was also skiing that day and we crossed each other several times.

There was a light snowfall that day. Snow is not condensed rain as some may think. Rather it forms in the clouds as water vapor condenses around dust particles and falls to the ground. It has its own hexagonal crystal lattice structure - all H2O molecules still.  I watched as the snowflakes fell like little cotton puffs on my sleeve as I rode up the ski lift. I could feel the sensation of the steel edges of the skis slicing through the layer of fresh powder snow on the ground as I skied down. It was beautiful. Nature was gracefully exiting winter with a gentle show of snowflakes.  This was the way to ski - in gentle snowfall!

I had started off being scared of skiing. Anxiety at start had instead turned to a promise of adventure. Thanks DSA for making it happen.  

That was last winter.

This winter I was back with eager anticipation in my eyes. My first lesson was on 12/28/13, then I came for back to back lessons on 1/11 and 1/12/14. For the first 2 lessons, I again had 2 instructors, but for the 3rd one, I was down to one instructor - John. I had no clips on my skis this winter either. One instructor and no clips or harness - that indicates progress. Yeah!  The subway slope was closed this winter for lack of snow, so we had to use the Meadows slope and lift, which is the next level. That slope is steeper so the instructors were more hands on with me.  We even practiced a tried a few turns, that is harder and will probably take more classes to improve. Pizza (wedges) and French Fries (parallel skis)!  In my last lesson with John, I did fall a few times and one time I went tumbling to the side when I was halfway down the Meadows slope. John was trying to make me lean forward and so was skiing backward in front of me and trying to make me do hi-fives so that I would reach out forward with my body while skiing. OMG, He must be really good at skiing, in order to be able to ski backwards. But I feel I am getting better. I look forward to my future classes.

I was actually late for my class on 1/11 with instructors Allie and Carolyn. The weather had turned south and it had started snowing while we were driving to Tahoe. Snow chains or snow tires were mandatory. Soon the snowfall became so thick that traffic crawled to a standstill on 80 West well before Truckee. There was either the need for snow removal or an accident up ahead. Cars were getting thickly coated with snow, the wipers could barely keep up. Dad was getting somewhat worried. Cars were making fresh tracks on the newly fallen snow, the road beneath was barely visible. Most of the traffic was headed for the ski areas. Californians not used to snow, were driving cautiously and very slowly. In the Bay Area, where I live, if it rains even a little bit, the traffic slows tremendously; we just are not used to bad weather.

The ski lesson that day was a first in terms of the weather for me. The sky was overcast with gloomy gray clouds. Snow fell constantly. But this was no gentle snowfall like the one  last March. A strong wind whipped the snow around and sent it forcefully to the ground. The wind rocked the Meadows ski lift as we rode up each time. Tops of green trees peeking out through the snow were bent sorrowfully with the wind. Snow was flying around. Gloom made the world around, including the snow, seem light gray. The gray was uniform from from ground to sky. The force of the  snowflakes stung my face as I tried to ski. Thermals were a default necessity for such a day. I had not needed them before. I also needed a clava to protect my face. Only my nose was visible between the helmet, goggles and clava. I felt like a masked bandit, totally camouflaged.   My gloves, though technically waterproof thinsulate, did get wet from the few falls and I had to get a new pair in between. Though it was wet, windy and cold, it was the winter ski experience. Skiers and snowboarders were falling constantly on the slope that day. Nature was flexing her wilder wings and you have to appreciate all aspects of her personality. My mind extrapolated briefly on what a white-out would be like,  and prayed I’m never actually in one; it is best experienced on TV or in a Jack London short story.  It must be a million times crazier than this.

The ski resort was packed, and crowds milled around the more advanced lifts. Skiers apparently love this weather. The crazier the snow, the better the ski experience apparently. The slopes were crowded as was the restaurant. I ate nachos after my lesson at the bar area. There were clusters of people gathered around the big screen TV. It was gametime - Saints vs SeaHawks. Bay Area was rooting for the Saints in a big way that day.   The Niners would have to face the winners. Drunk and boisterous fans at the bars yelled with disgust at the SeaHawks every move. A SeaHawks win would mean Niners playing them at Seattle. CenturyLink field holds the record for stadium decibel level, which gives them a clear home advantage. It was the first time I’ve seen so many drunk people in one place. It was a study of human behavior under the influence. There were spontaneous bursts of songs; both avid delight and disgust.

We had dinner take out from the China Express restaurant in North Lake Tahoe. We’d eaten there during a summer trip to Tahoe with cuz Arjun. The name of the inn we stayed in, had the word Spa in it, but it was far from a spa, the way its normally thought of. Instead the inn had hotel toiletries with the brand name “spa” in the bathrooms. Really!! Seriously!! Talk about misleading! The walls were so thin, we could hear the conversation next door well into the night. A hotel not to be repeated definitely.

  

The weather was delightful the next day (1/12/14); I was there for a morning class. The sun was out and it was refracting rainbows through snowdrops on the trees. How could I not plunge into visual stims. I kept stopping to pick up and feel the fresh powder snow. I was wearing gloves, but the way the snow fell in a twinkling shower from my hands was delightful to watch. Oh the trials of autism - it allows us to see and appreciate so many details yet is so  disruptive to our motor planning and our activities. Obviously I was going to fall if I tried to bend over to pick up snow, and I did indeed fall a few times. When I rode up the lift, the skis dangled awkwardly on my feet as usual, but when I moved them, the packed snow on them fell in a picturesque shower of powder. So I did it some more and enjoyed the show. The mountains loomed on either side. It was as though the word had been painted a soft white with patches of green and  brown peeking through. It was not cold like the previous day; even the snow goggles were hot, just sun glasses and the helmet were enough. The snow gleamed under the bright sunlight, yet the previous day’s snowfall had left a layer of powder that the skis sliced through while skiing. Nature was displaying yet another side to this appreciative fan. 

Images and Videos

01/12/14 Photos  Videos
01/11/14  Photos  Videos
12/28/13 Photos  Videos
03/31/13 Photos  
03/02/13 Photos  Videos

Aloha Maui 1/5

Hawaii Travelogue Part 1
 

Humuhumunukunukuapua’a 
- that’s the name of the Hawaii's state fish that grunts like a pig!  What a mouthful!

I had a lovely vacation in Maui this December. In Hawaiian folklore, Mau’i is the name of the half-mortal god who fished out the islands of Hawaii with a fish hook. He forgot to tie them all together so they spread out. The island of Maui is named after him. The Hawaii island chain is actually a volcanic seamount chain that formed as the Pacific tectonic plate moved over a magma hotspot. Islands no longer on the hotspot, reduced and stopped their volcanic activity and over time became coral reefs like Kauai in the north. Ancient Hawaiian legend says that Pele (Goddess of Fire), was chased by her sister Na-mako-o-Kaha'i (Goddess of the Sea), from Kaua'i in the north all the way to the Big Island in the south, where she now currently resides. Big Island has active volcanoes and a new underwater volcano Lo’ihi is forming further south of  Big Island. Maui has a dormant volcano - Haleakala. Sunrise from its summit is supposed to be spectacular - but its also supposed to be freezing cold up there early morning (some 35 deg). 

When you land in Hawai'i, the first thing you notice is its laid back, ‘take it easy,’ atmosphere. Given its warm weather, the airport itself has open air corridors. An immediate reminder that you are in Hawaii, and  not just any tropical place, are the signs outside the airport restrooms. The figures on the sign for the men’s (kane) and women’s (wahine) restrooms both wear the Hawaiian lei (garland made with the plumeria flower). It sure brought a smile to the lips. It was warm after the California cold, bordering on 75-80 deg. 

I got to visit Kauai and Big Island two years ago and this was my first visit to Maui. Everytime I visit Hawaii, I really don't want to come back. I would like to just live permanently by the beach. 

Aloha and Mahalo Maui

..  kou moana ( your ocean)  
..  kou kahakai (your beaches)
..  baby kohola jumping (whale)
... honu swimming (turtle)
..  the ua (rain) in Hana
..  and the waterfalls 
Just nani !(beautiful) 
I loved my visit 
Mahalo  Mau'i  (thanks)

- Hari Srinivasan


Hawaii Travelogue 2012
Part 1 - Aloha Maui
Part 2 - I Survived the Road to Hana
Part 3 - West Maui
Part 4 - North Beaches and Watermen
Part 5 - Whale of a Tail
Part 6 - Humuhunukunukuapua'a and the Coral Reef
Part 7 - Living Aloha

Humuhumunukunukuapua'a and the Coral Reef 6/7

Hawaii Travelogue - Part 6

Humuhumunukunukuapua'a and the Coral Reef

A ride on the glass bottomed boats, called reef dancer, provides a closer look at the coral reef environs off Maui’s coast. Maui’s coral reef is still relatively young so it does not have a barrier reef like Australia. The reef dancer essentially is a narrow boat with  an underwater cabin. The cabin has glass windows so you are able to see what’s going on beneath the surface. As you travel from shore the views alternate between the sandy bottom and coral colonies. Coral is actually live - the polyp floats around looking for a place to anchor itself. It then grows in colonies which acts as a habitat for a range of other marine life. You could actually see numerous schools of fish swimming about along the way. 

The boat stopped around ¼ mile offshore and divers went down to rustle up a few of the shyer inhabitants and displayed them through the windows. There is some irony to this. We go to see the marine life in their natural environment. I imagine the presence of the boat itself is somewhat disruptive to them. On top of that, divers fetch some of the animals out of their lairs to  show the passengers. Having said that, it was interesting to see the creatures they displayed - for unless you scuba dived yourself, how were you going to see the shyer denizens of the ocean floor. 

We got to see various shells - especially a giant tiger cowrie (leho-kiko).  The one we saw was almost 4-5 inches long. They can grow to almost 6 inches. They usually hide in the crevices and cracks of coral and feed on plankton and sponges. No 2 cowries look alike - each have their own distinct markings. The mollusk inside spreads a glossy substances all over its shell to protect it, giving it the shiny look. In Hawaii, cowrie shells were/are used in lures to bait octopus. The divers also showed us some sea stars (pe’ape’a) and sea urchins (vana). Sea Stars look like a brown star shaped pillow. Sea Stars eat by ejecting their stomachs and digesting their prey. And if an arm breaks off, it simply grows into a new sea star. The variety of sea urchin the diver showed us, was the purple-black ‘collector sea urchin,’ (hawa ‘e). It is called that as it  holds onto bits of seaweed and debris. It is painful to step on a sea-urchin and some varieties are poisonous too. 

One of the divers brought out the  day octopus (he’e mauli). It has some 1920 suction cups so can really hold onto its prey. It then inject  a poisonous liquid onto its prey and kills it. The  he’e immediately  latched onto our glass window with all of its suction cups, so we got a good look at its underbelly. The diver was holding onto it all the while, so it was not a Happy He’e.! It then tried to confuse the diver by restoring to its it classic defense mechanism - squirting jet black ink. The octopus is actually one of the most intelligent creatures of its class. The ink is meant to confuse the predator, create a similar shaped decoy or cause temporary blindness -  giving the octopus the chance to make a 'wiki wiki' (fast) getaway. So we got to see the clouds of black ink, which to the octopus’s enormous disappointment was not deterring our diver in the least. The guide infact called that diver an ‘octopus whisperer,” as she was trying to stroke the head of the octopus. When the diver finally let go, the octopus glided away - its swaying movement is like a graceful dance under the sea.    

A few of the fish I saw were Yellow Tang (‘lau’ipala), Orange spine unicorn (lau lau), reef triggerfish (humuhumunukunukuapua’a), Black Durgeon Triggerfish (humuhumu’ele’ele), parrotfish (uhu) and ornate butterflyfish (kikakapu).  The butterfly fish are colorful and disk shaped; early Hawaiians thought they resembled leaves that turned yellow with age so named them after those trees. Some varieties of butterflyfish were considered taboo or kikakapu. The parrotfish is remarkable in its ability to sex-change. It starts off as a female and can change into a male if so required. The reef triggerfish makes grunt like noises when faced with predators possibly to scare them or to warn other fish. The humu-humu-nuku-nuku-apua-a (reef triggerfish) is Hawaii’s state fish, and means the fish that grunts like a pig. It’s a mouthful to say but there is a species of butterflyfish with an even longer name in Hawaii  - lauwiliwilinukunukuʻoiʻoi,  which translates to  long snouted fish shaped like a williwilli leaf. I was disappointed to not see the pufferfish anywhere. It’s defence mechanism is to swell up with water like a balloon. 

In 9th grade, I had taken Oceanography as an elective and we had studied the habits of many marine creatures, so it was interesting to get to see them. This was a young coral reef and overall a decent trip. I hope I get the opportunity to see the coral life in the Great Barrier Reef one day.

Hawaii Travelogue 2012
Part 1 - Aloha Maui
Part 2 - I Survived the Road to Hana
Part 3 - West Maui
Part 4 - North Beaches and Watermen
Part 5 - Whale of a Tail
Part 6 - Humuhunukunukuapua'a and the Coral Reef
Part 7 - Living Aloha

Maui's North Beaches and Watermen 4/7

Hawaii Travelogue Part 4 of 7


Maui's North Beaches and Watermen

Maui has some of the most breathtaking beaches. The beaches on the north shore and the Hana side are especially spectacular as the ocean is rougher there. A rough ocean means BIG waves followed by BIGGER waves. Huge waves means the Hawaiian Watermen are out and about. Those who passionately engage in water sports like surfing etc refer to themselves as Watermen. 

On Ho’okapi Beach, we saw many of these Watermen plying their passion. There were sufers, wind sufers, boarders, kite surfers. A huge group of spectators watched the Watermen from shore and the lookout point on the cliff. Their play looked effortless but it must be a tough sport. You have to admire the qualities of resilience and patience that sports like surfing entails. They have to wait for the right wave, so a lot of patience is required. There are as many falls as rides on the waves, so a lot of resilience is needed to keep coming back for more. No matter how long the surfer rides a single wave by zigzagging just ahead of the curl of the wave, as some point it invariably waves all over him. Some of the waves carried the sufers almost to rocks on the shore. It almost looked like they would hit the rocks, but at the last minute he would manuever to get to the sandy part rather than the rocks. The wind surfers zipped here and there on their boards with the attached sails. They were incredibly fast.   

Kanaha Beach and Baldwin Beach are 2 other beautiful beaches on the north shore. Pure white sands and nice big waves make for a great swim-shore experience. Baldwin Beach was this vast expanse of gorgeous sand and deep blue ocean that threw out deep blue waters with frothy tips. Many local kids, some maybe just 4-5 years old, were fearlessly tackling these waves on their boogie boards. The waves at Kanaha Beach would curl around your feet and even before it receded, another wave took its place. It was marvelous just standing there at the edge of the sea.  

Hawaii Travelogue 2012
Part 1 - Aloha Maui
Part 2 - I Survived the Road to Hana
Part 3 - West Maui
Part 4 - North Beaches and Watermen
Part 5 - Whale of a Tail
Part 6 - Humuhunukunukuapua'a and the Coral Reef
Part 7 - Living Aloha