Catering to every child's needs...

Last month was a big day for the staff of Sambhav Foundation, a centre for special-needs children based in south Bangalore. Eight-year-old autistic Sujatha* uttered the word ‘Amma’ for the first time in her life. Sujatha, who has tricho-rhino-phalangeal syndrome, a spectrum of autism, had been brought here one-and-a-half years ago.

She could not talk, displayed difficulty in motor-coordination, and even had no comprehension whatsoever of having come to a new place from home. With great patience and care, the staff trained her and, one day, on seeing her mother she slowly but clearly intoned: ‘Amma’ bringing tears to the eyes of the mother and teachers alike.

Vocational training

A different success story is being celebrated with mentally challenged 26-year-old Manjula*. She came to Sambhav a few years ago for the vocational training class (the third level of education here). She quickly picked up some skills while demonstrating considerable independence in looking after her own basic needs.

And today, the centre is proud of this productive ‘Assistant to The Teacher’ in early intervention classes. Now she helps in the teaching of other children in tasks like solving puzzles, building blocks, toilet-training and also feeds the very mentally challenged among the kids who cannot eat by themselves.

Founded by Dr Meena K Jain, a child psychologist by training, Sambhav Foundation caters to children who have special needs and hence cannot enter mainstream schools. It aims to educate, empower and transform the lives of these children so they can have a safe and promising future.

These children range from the severely mentally challenged to those who have minor issues and hence respond easily to training and finally manage to lead fairly independent lives.

The 18-member staff imparts motor-skills, cognitive skills and self-help skills and makes them as independent as possible so they can be integrated into the mainstream as much as possible. Self-help skills include eating, dressing, and toilet-training; and motor skills like eye-hand coordination, sitting, standing and walking unaided; while cognitive skills include counting money, doing puzzles, reading and writing, etc. For the few who cannot be helped to improve because of very serious issues and incurable problems, Sambhav functions as a kind of respite-care centre.

It also cares for the terminally ill.

When a child is brought to Sambhav, the first step is a developmental profile using standardised scales like Portage, Brigance and Denvar’s, reveals Vidya Aithal, Programme Manager. “Along with the parental interview and these formal tests, there are also informal tests to help us understand the child’s level,” adds Vidya.

“The child’s medical records and case history are also studied. If the former is missing, the child is sent to the relevant doctors.”

The above holds for children from birth to seven years, i.e, early-intervention cases. For children above seven, there are tests like the NIMHANS Battery and Binet-Kamat
Test or BKT to gauge IQ and skill levels. “This helps us understand whether we can admit and handle the child or not. For example, in cases of severe developmental problems or cerebral palsy, we cannot give admission as we lack the necessary infrastructure. We refer them to other institutions,” explains Vidya.

Attention to individual students

After admission, the centre begins an IEP or Individual Education Programme in consultation with the parents. Like most centres for special children, Sambhav elicits parental participation as well as provides training to siblings as they are the major influences in a child’s growing years. Sambhav has three levels of education: early intervention, open-based education, and vocational training. Those who respond well in the first two levels are sent to mainstream schools.

In the vocational-training class, the students, many of whom are already adults, are taught how to make baskets, candles, costume jewellery, etc. And they seem to be doing a fine job going by the finished products we see stacked in cupboards in the classroom.

Those who show promise in vocational-training class are placed in relevant jobs, setting them on the path to some economic independence. This also gives them an opportunity for fruitful use of their time which is important considering they are not likely to engage as much with the outside world as the average person. Currently, the centre’s ongoing programmes include Saadhya which renders services to the disabled sector in Bangalore and Mysore. Because the idea is to make the special-needs children as independent as possible, it imparts to them job skills, workplace-behaviour skills and life-skills, and open placement.

There is Saakshi which provides self-enrichment programmes for children from disadvantaged and deprived backgrounds. Balika Siksha focuses on empowering girl children from disturbed and disadvantaged homes by using financial sponsorship to pursue education in good schools. Sambhav Foundation also works to develop healthcare facilities in rural areas, and spreading awareness about hygiene and sanitation, designing livelihood programmes for the economically disadvantaged, and also identifying special-needs children.  

Sambhav has set many ambitious goals for itself. These include, creation of awareness about the differently abled and socially disadvantaged children so that they receive greater acceptance in society; adopting backward villages for assistance in developmental programmes; strengthening rehabilitation facilities by designing useful processes and systems for them; building a permanent home for the mentally challenged; bringing out relevant audio/video and print publications; designing teaching aids for the mentally challenged etc.

(*Names changed on request.)