The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Early intervention programme to be launched for children with autism

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 12, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Early intervention programme to be launched for children with autism

Staff Reporter

Autism occurs in one out of 500 children
There is no model to address needs of such children

Bangalore: Autism is a lifelong development disorder that prevents individuals from understanding what they see and hear and poses severe problems in communication and behaviour.

It occurs in one out of 500 children, according to global estimates, and is twice as common as blindness.

But a suitable model to address the needs of children with autism spectrum disorder has not been developed in India and there is limited awareness about the disorder among doctors and parents alike.

Moreover, each child has different needs and may require tailor-made programmes targeted towards behaviour modification and improving communication skills.

Therefore, success with all children through a particular programme may not be achieved, say experts.

But now there seems to be a ray of hope for children in “Communication-DEALL (Development Eclectic Approach to Language Learning)”’ programme.

A pioneering project developed by Pratibha Karanth, a speech language pathologist, Communication-DEALL is an early intervention programme aimed at the cognitive, social and behavioural aspect of the child’s development. Dr. Karanth told presspersons here on Wednesday that the Com-DEALL Trust would open this programme for replication at its two-day national meet to be held from December 12.

Aimed at integrating autistic children into the mainstream and creating awareness among their parents and caregivers about early intervention, the meet is being held to mark the trust’s eighth anniversary, she said.

The children were given specialised education and intensive speech language therapy and taught communicative and socialising skills with the primary aim of integrating them into regular school by the time they reached the schooling age.

Pointing out that she wanted to write this programme as an intervention package so that the model could be replicated by others and used widely, Dr. Karanth said this would help bring autistic children into the mainstream and help them deal with the demands of the world.

Over 150 professionals, including child psychologists, neurologists, paediatricians, psychiatrists, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, educators and parents would participate in the meet.

Assessment and intervention manuals for toddlers would be released during the meet.

Poonam Natarajan, chairperson of the National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities will inaugurate the meet. Details can be had on ph: 25800826/27.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka