With the objective of providing an integrated approach to training and development of children with special needs, a school was inaugurated at Vilachery near here on Wednesday.
It has been launched by N. Rama Varier Ayurveda Foundation, the non-profit wing of AVN Group which is engaged in research, development and training in Ayurveda and has centres in Madurai, Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai, besides Ernakulam.
The school — ‘Aavani’ — would combine yoga, allopathic medicine and rehabilitation sciences integrated with ayurvedic therapeutic interventions.
It had developed facilities in the physiotherapy, neuro-developmental therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, special education and vision therapy.
Mainstream
According to a press note, a multi disciplinary headed by senior ayurvedic and allopathic specialists would train the children with the aim of bringing them into the mainstream.
The school kids would be put through motor learning, learning disability programme, software assisted IQ measurement, colouring and painting, art and craft, ADL-training, play therapy, sensory integration therapy, vision therapy, besides reading and writing.
A special software programme, I-Kyu, would be used to improve the IQ level assessment, diagnosis, evaluation and intervention of special children suffering from Downs Syndrome, cerebral palsy, multiple disability autism, behavioural problems and mentally challenged children.
Special resource
The school also provided a special resource centre and support class room for children with learning disability.
The State Nodal Officer for District Mental Health Programme, C. Ramasubramanian, who inaugurated the school, said that allopathic medicines had certain limitations in that while it could control the symptoms, it cannot completely eradicate it. As such, a combination of ayurvedic treatment with allopathic medicines could help patient immensely.
He called for a research combining these two disciplines of medical systems and said that M.S. Chellamuthu Trust and Research Centre, founded by him, was ready to collaborate with the AVN Group in scientific research, the results of which could be published nationally and internationally.
The breakdown of social and moral values in an increasingly materialistic world was now leading to an increasing mental illness among people.
Further, Dr. Ramasubramanian said a pressing problem faced by families with mentally-challenged persons was the immense difficulty in getting disability certification.
To address this, he said that the M.S. Chellamuthu Trust had devised a system in which, upon receipt of information, their psychiatrists would travel to the home of the patient and provide the certification on the spot.
The Trust had received the authorisation for this purpose, he added.
P.V. Raghava Varier, chairman and chief physician of AVN Group and Ramesh R. Varier, Managing Director, AVN Arogya, took part in the function.
