04 February,2022 08:17 AM IST | Mumbai | Somita Pal
The centre will have specialist services and therapies for children with special needs. Representation pic
In a first-of-its-kind centre for specially abled children, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is going to set up an early intervention and rehabilitation centre in Byculla. The project had a special mention in the budget 2022-23 presented by the BMC commissioner on Thursday.
Developmental paediatricians welcomed the move saying this was long awaited. "It shows that the authorities are recognising that children with special needs require a separate specialised approach and it cannot be clubbed with adults. We also need an outcome-oriented approach towards these children," said Dr Samir Dalwai, consultant developmental-behavioural paediatrician, Nanavati Max Hospital.
Citing that around 2 per cent of the population worldwide has autism, 10 per cent learning disability, and 5-8 per cent ADHD, he said, "We need 10 more centres in Mumbai alone to cater to the needs of this population." The centre, which will be coming up in a 36,000 sq ft area in Nagpada-Byculla, will provide all medical facilities and therapy to children with any physical disability, mental disability, down syndrome, incapacity, autism, cerebral palsy, etc.
Health officials said the centre will have specialist services and therapies in the field of paediatric evaluation, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, audiology, speech and language therapy, psychiatric evaluation, counselling and remedial education, orthopaedics, ENT, ophthalmology and paediatric dentistry. In addition to this, there will also be facilities of gait analysis, aqua therapy and tele-medicine. BMC also plans to have a community outreach to create advocacy and awareness of the therapy available.
Archana Chandra, chief executive officer of Jai Vakeel Foundation which works in this field, said, "It took a long time but it is good that this segment of the population has been acknowledged. Having an early intervention and rehabilitation centre for these children with all the required interventions under one roof is a boon for any parent. We have seen parents running helter-skelter for their children when it comes to various interventions."
She added that treatment will also become affordable. "Diagnosis is not enough for these children. We need to hand hold them through the journey. Many times the cost of the interventions become a deterrent factor for the parents and the child. BMC's centre will be a boon for such children and their parents," said Chandra.
