Provide therapy to 50 disabled children in India

Vasu, is a pretty, strong and lively ten year old. This little bubble of joy came to SAMADHAN with Speech Articulation Disorder with Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy, a condition in infants and children that result from damage to the part (hemisphere) of the brain that controls muscle movements. This damage may occur before, during or shortly after birth. The term hemiplegia means that the paralysis is on one vertical half of the body, in Vasu’s case it is the left side of her body that is affected. But all this has not made her pessimistic about life.

Vasu’s parents, are from a very humble background. Her father is a driver while mother is a homemaker who also sells homemade pickles in order to support the education of their three children. Vasu is their second child and the most special one for them. With education in India becoming inclusive, her parents admitted her in a nearby Kendriya Vidyalaya, a government school. Due to its infant stage of introduction, the concept of inclusive education did not enable her to maximize her potential. Accompanied by her mother, she went to school but was not able to cope up with others. Lack of sensitization led to her teachers and peers not being able to connect with her and she ended up sitting quietly in a corner observing others. 

“Going to a mainsteam school without proper orientation is not helpful”, comments - Mr. Jitender, a Speech Therapist in SAMADHAN. “Special intervention along with exposure to the peers of her age is the key to motivate Vasu to work towards achieving the various goals set for her.”  She was advised to start specialized services at SAMADHAN was sought to help her get quality services. After availing specialized services from SAMADHAN, she can now write Hindi and English alphabet, able to draw shapes, get dressed on her own and recite various poems. “Vasu does most of her work by herself now. She likes meeting new people and talks to everyone without any inhibition”, says her mother. Every morning when she gets up for school, she competes with her younger brother for dressing up, having breakfast and putting the day’s books inside the backpack. In class, she volunteers and actively participates in every activity. She also helps her fellow classmates and loves playing pranks on them. She goes to the mainstream school twice a week now and is able to relate to the other students of her class. Her training at SAMADHAN is carefully tailored so as to enable her to participate more actively in the classroom and interact with her peers. The special educator observed that she never leaves a task incomplete and is not a quitter. Sometimes her little fingers get tired of performing an activity but that does not stop her. Until the assignment is successfully completed, Vasu does not give up. After all, she has to flaunt her winning smile!

Thank you so much for your generous contribution through GlobalGiving, which  has enabled Vasu to receive positive intervention to improve her condition. The family’s gratefulness toward the organization is further reflected by their darling daughter’s joy and laughter.

Sometimes in life you need a bit of drama, and you can count on Jatin for that! “He observes the people around him and tries to imitate them”, says Sangeeta, his mother. Sangeeta and Sudhir come from a very marginalized section of the society. Sudhir is a salesman in a shop and is the sole breadwinner of the joint family. His wife is a homemaker. Jatin is seven years old and is their first born child. They have a younger son who is now two years old. “When we got to know that our first born son is not like the other children, it depressed us. We asked God for strength to get through the phase. Now, even though God has given us another son, Jatin will always be the special one among the two”, Sangeeta told us while smiling lovingly at her son who was trying to pull her into the classroom.

Jatin came to SAMADHAN with a combined condition of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and moderate Mental Retardation (MR). ADHD is a mental disorder of the neuro-developmental type. It is characterized by problems paying attention, excessive activity, or difficulty controlling behavior which is not appropriate for a person's age. MR is another neuro-developmental disorder characterized by significantly impaired intellectual and adaptive functioning. It is defined by an IQ under 70 in addition to deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors that affect everyday, general living. Before joining the organization, Jatin was extremely hyper. “There was absolutely no peace in the house. The entire day was spent trying to control him”, his father said - He did not eat any other food other than milk and biscuits, could not communicate and was not able to perform any activity on his own.

 The specialists at SAMADHAN designed a specific course for him to follow everyday. This included physical exercises and other play-way methods to train Jatin’s body and mind to perform at least the day to day activities independently. Within four months, a tremendous change could be seen in the child. He can now hold a pencil and scribble, clean his face on his own, express his needs through speech and identify his belongings from that of the others. Whenever he meets someone, he shouts a loud ‘Namaste’ with a smile. The special educator has also observed that he now sits in his chair calmly when he’s required to perform a classroom activity.

Sangeeta is extremely happy that Jatin has finally calmed down. She enjoys the way he imitates others and jokingly suggested that he could have become an actor. The intervention at SAMADHAN has shown an improvement in her child’s behaviour and she hopes that someday Jatin will become independent. The organization brought a smile on the face of a little actor known as Jatin.

A big thank you to support our organization in bringing out changes in the lives of our children.