HELPING HAND: Assessment for disability in progress at a camp on Tuesday. — Photo: S.R. Raghunathan

CHENNAI: Nimitha (17), a former student of the Madhuram Narayanan Centre, was all smiles as K.R. Shyam, physiotherapist from the Freedom Trust, bent her legs, stretched her hands and assessed her at the camp for physically disabled children held at the centre. Jayavarshini was among the 50 children who participated in the assessment for disability.

S. Sunder, Managing Trustee of the Freedom Trust, said he had been associated with the Madhuram Narayanan Centre for the last 10 years, after a music performance he gave there. A specialist in physiatry, he chose to apply it for treatment of special children using physical methods, avoiding drugs or surgery. "We also study how to prescribe a calliper or artificial limb to suit the needs of each child," he said, pointing out that the Trust also worked in the field of pain relief. Freedom is an acronym for Foundation for the Rehabilitation, Empowerment and Education of the Disabled of Madras. The Trust also provides orthotic appliances that are fixed to the body, after a two-stage process of assessment and prescription. In one of the largest camps conducted in Madurai, 215 patients were screened and 165 appliances were distributed. Prosthetics are artificial limbs and orthotics include callipers, splints and mobility aids.

At the Madhuram Narayanan Centre, physiotherapy training is part of the curriculum, said R. Balamuruga, physiotherapist.

If children do not have neck control by three months, do not sit by six or eight months or do not crawl/stand by 10 months or walk by the 12th month, the problem needs to be looked into. It could be because of brain damage during birth or before birth. With cerebral palsy being the main reason for dysfunction of limbs or motor activities, therapeutic treatment is part of early intervention, he says. The assessment and provision of orthotic and prosthetic devices for the patients will be free of cost.

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