Kalpana

Little Kalpana came to our Bal Chetna Centre for underprivileged special needs children, in 2011. A victim of Down's Syndrome she suffered poor gross and fine motor skills and had very weak muscles. She is flat-footed and did not play freely nor jump like other children her age. Inevitably she withdrew into herself, diffident about mixing with her peer group. Naturally, she developed no social skills and her articulation was reluctant, mostly in gestures. Reading and writing were non-starters in her case in this state.

Our Bal Chetna team comprising a Special educator, Occupational, Speech and Physiotherapists quickly got into action and worked out a careful sequence of treatment. First Kalpana learnt to breathe through the nose and her drooling stopped. With continuous encouragement and exercises, the child slowly started to respond coherently, albeit in phrases. She obviously comprehended what was being asked. By and by she began to relax in company and today Kalpana even gets passionate about making her point!

Today, we were delighted when Kalpana started attempting her own chores independently. She combs her own hair, walks over to the nearby shops to buy her small needs and even assists her family members at home. Kalpana now plays in a group and is enthused to accomplish all the prescribed motor exercises. She now reads two-letter words and can write her own name.