Janaki Hari’s day begins and ends with children. Which is delightful since she likes children, but meaningful too because Janaki is helping them to ‘use their words’. As a Speech Language Pathologist, Janaki works out of Erisha Speech Language Interventions, her centre in Sasthamangalam where her colleague’s rhythmic singing to a child greets one at the gate.
Last weekend, Janaki began yet another Hanen Program for Parents, a three-month certificate course that equips parents with tools and resources for their child’s language and literacy development. “I always try to make parents co-trainers as they spend more time with their children than we do. Most centres don’t allow parents to sit in on the sessions but I think doing so would help hasten their children’s progress,” Janaki says.
Janaki Hari
Between Janaki and her colleague, they see at least 18 children every day. “My youngest is one and a half years old and oldest 15. I made an exception for a 26-year-old recently,” Janaki says. Eighteen months back, Thiruvananthapuram did not feature on her list of plans. Already practising in Bengaluru, she was back in the city on a short break to plan her wedding. “I was set to head back. Since there was time to kill, I took up an opening at a hospital. But the environment was one where children already associated doctors’ rooms with injections. So I quit and started seeing a few children at home.”
Setting up Erisha
But when it was time for her to leave, the parents objected, even turning down her offer to refer them to other therapists. So, with the support of her fiancé who was willing to make the move here for Janaki to formally set up a centre, Erisha was born. She says it was her mother who, as a volunteer at a special school, inspired Janaki’s career move.
She says where children here are concerned, a language delay is often detected late because of the stigma attached to the issue.
“Most often, parents notice that there is a lag, but when grandparents assure them with lines like, ‘Oh you were also like this’, ‘They need to spend more time around us’ etc, the problem goes on till the child is ready for school. Then it is a rush. The parents ask us to make the child talk by the time classes begin.” NRI parents too, she mentions, ask for quick results.
“They fly down for their summer vacations and ask if we can have sessions with the child for two months.”
A child’s attention span is no longer than 45 minutes, the same time Janaki sets aside for a session.
“Anything longer will make him/her restless.” She prefers play therapy more than other methods for the same reason. "There are sessions involving facial exercises. They are highly effective too when used for specific issues but play sessions allow a natural setting for conversation."
Play therapist
Convinced about its effectiveness, Janaki underwent training to become a play therapist. She also has a certification in a program called Talk Tools for speech, oral placement and feeding difficulties.
However, there are still those who do not know to play. “In issues like play development, children don’t know what they are supposed to do, say with a car or a ball," she elaborates, calling the television a common problem. "Children have so much visual stimuli now that their other senses aren’t allowed a fair chance to develop the same way. A child might see a car or a ball on TV too but not knowing where one’s hand ends and environment begins would make it difficult for him/her to know what to do with a real toy.”
Gadgets like tablets, though not proved to be the only factor, also have the same effect, she notes from observation. “Parents often resort to a tab or television to keep children off their backs. Single parents too have similar issues. Add to that the stress of responsibilities they shoulder alone and it is the child that suffers.” But it is scenarios where mothers say, “It is just the child and me at home all day. We are alone,” that Janaki finds amusing. “A parent has to talk to his/her child, person to person, no matter how young they are. It makes all the difference.”
Lifestyle changes, neurological issues, congenital defects, seizures, Austism Spectrum Disorder can all be reasons, Janaki says, hoping that schools in the city will be more inclusive of children with such challenges. “What they need is a normal social setting where there is scope for more conversation and social interaction.”
The centre also sees children who have difficulty swallowing, chewing, sucking and performing other similar basic functions. To keep topics and solutions alive so that they are discussed, Janaki has held two workshops so far. There are more in the offing. “In Bangalore, workshops are held regularly so that you can stay updated. I am trying to do the same here in Thiruvananthapuram.”
An ideal centre would also have a child psychologist, an occupational therapist and a special educator. That is the sort of centre Janaki hopes to make Erisha very soon.
