Shristi Special Academy
Article in Deccan Herald Spectrum

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Status: current / ongoing

Jul 2005

Striving towards an independent and free life

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L Subramani talks about Srishti Special Academy for the mentally challenged which believes that science can help make things better.

Uma crawled over like a delicate snake. Her target was a toy precariously hanging in the hands of her playmate Ranjan. Away in a corner, Nandita was saying hello and almost at once, drew the attention by her gentle howl.

A year or two ago, these special children would have been in their own world of stillness and silence. Delayed brain development in their case, manifested in the absence of milestones usually seen in other children. Bright light, for instance, may not have made them react with a blink; as did blaring behind their backs.

Now, like the crawling little angel Uma, these children reach out to the external world, be it gingerly, by a few slurred syllables, half gestures and howls. Their teachers observe even the tiniest progress, satisfied that their intervention has finally worked.

Indeed, every small progress in the little ones motivates instructors at Shristi Special Academy for the mentally challenged. The Bangalore-based NGO puts its belief in scientifically designed intervention programmes, encompassing medical, therapeutic and educational aspects. They feel this would go someway in making the mentally challenged independent.

"Our goal cannot be time-bound," explains Sharon Watts, one of the founders of Shristi. "That's because each mental impairment, be it cerebral palsy, downs syndrome or autism, has its own challenges and a child's progress depends very much on the degree of impairment, how early the intervention starts and importantly how co-operative parents are."

Shristi's approach

Three special educators -Meena Jain, Suchitra Somashekeriah and Sharon Watts -have this dream: one day, people with mental challenge will stand on their own legs, defying general notions that they are not capable of achieving that. They saw in the mentally challenged unique abilities, concealed in physical and behavioural peculiarity, which can be brought out with warmth and love.

Beginning with three educators and four children a decade ago, Shristi today has grown into 103 children and 46 staff. Students under intervention here are aged three to 30. The two branches - at Basaveshwarnagar and Channenahalli - offers training from infant stimulation (making the sensory organs feel the environment) till vocational training.

Uma and 12 of her peers play on at the pre-school unit, where the foundation for a child's progress is made. Sharon, who oversees the programme here, reveals physiotherapy and infant stimulation guides children towards motor milestones: strengthening their neck and spine, making them stand and hand manipulation. "The key thing here is individual care and showing warmth, which often makes progress smooth," Sharon says.

Depending on the progress, the little ones are moved on to the primary group, where additional living skills like personal hygiene, social behaviour, basic academic and communication are taught.

"We allow parents to be with us, while training the child, so that they would continue the process at home," reveals Manjula, a special educator. "We also exchange information with them, understanding if there's any difference the way the kid behaves here and at home. This helps us correct any problem that skips our notice."

Progress during each part of the intervention is medically and psychologically assessed. Attention is given to every minute detail such as giving easily chewable and nutritious food (as special children can't eat all kinds of food). After carefully assessing factors like cognitive development, IQ etc, Sharon and her team of educators consider moving a child to normal schools.

Vocational training

At Shristi's two-acre Channenahalli campus, mentally challenged individuals above 13 are exposed to newer skill-sets. Instructors here are busy training students in vocational activities, along with advanced level self-care and independent living skills.

Suchitra Somashekariah points out activities like cutting, pasting, folding and creasing comprise the pre-vocational training, given before the vocational course. "This would adequately prepare them for trade-skill training. The key here is to make them repeat the process, until they become comfortable doing it," she says.

The vocational training is focused on eight different areas: binding, tailoring, candle and soap-making, screen printing etc. Suchitra mentions taking an individual's aptitude into consideration, his/her trade-skill training is determined.

"We also take their parents on board, as they can play a supporting role during training and employment phase," Suchitra says.

Students here find the training rewarding, as they are given a stipend, from the proceeds Shristi gets by selling the products to the corporate.

Autism and respite care

The Channenahalli campus also has a special autistic care unit, where the individual requirements of children with the problem are identified and trained. Suchitra says autistic children differ from the rest in terms of characteristics and therefore need a special training module.

"They're non-communicative, very sensitive and can inflict injuries on themselves. We work on reducing their atypical behaviour that inhibits their progress, identify and train them in the activity they show interest in," she says.

At their respite care unit, Shristi offers intervention for the severely affected. They believe training in certain basic self-care and household chores would not only make them independent at home, but also keep them occupied and stop regressions.