Early Intervention for Childhood Disabilities

Early Intervention project under Village Based Rehabilitation Initiatives (VBRI)

VBRI is directly working with 512 children and their family members in eight blocks of Tirunelveli District, 13 Town bodies and 3 Municipalities. “Community participation in Early Intervention” is the highlight of the Village Based Early Intervention project.Therapy is offered at various village based rehab centres as well as at the homes of the children, whose conditions are severe and unable to travel to the rehab centres. Other children are bused to the centres with their mothers or fathers for 6 days a week, where they receive:

Specialized Physio, Speech and Occupational therapies.

Sensory integration (involving sensory stimulation for hearing, seeing, feeling and tasting) in a special “Sensory integration room”.

v  The children are trained in adaptive equipment (each one costing several hundred dollars) such as standers, walkers, posture training chairs, slope climbers, and a number of other equipment for successful training.

v  They are given toilet training and self feeding training. The parents are trained alongside to continue the practice at home.

Mother trains the child daily

CRW visits once in a week

Specialist visit once in a month

Evaluation team visits once in six months.

B. Early Intervention Centre at ASSA

After the useful service of Sangamam – our school meant for special children in the age group of 6 to 16 – for over a decade, it was decided to “Catch them young to rehabilitate fast”. Hence, Early Intervention Centre (EIC) was inaugurated in February 2013 to cater to the needs of Special children in the age group up to 6.

Early intervention program for infant and children helps to equip with motor, communication, social, self-help and cognitive skills from 0 to 6 years. This will help the children with multiple needs to maximize their developmental growth potential. Children with different developmental needs are trained and placed in normal school. This program has helped many children to minimize the symptoms and get back to normal life.  Research has shown that the period from birth to 6 years are the most critical years for all children, and more so for children with disabilities. Growth and development of a child is at its greatest in the first two to three years. During this phase of cognitive development, foundations of intelligence and behaviour begin to evolve. Additionally, ability of brain to affect structural and functional changes is at its best in this period. If the child misses this opportunity, further learning will be slow and / or inadequate. Early intervention programs work towards quicker inclusion of these children into the mainstream. In other words, Early Intervention means finding specific ways to help a child become as functional normally as possible.