The government is trying to bring regional centres of all national institutions working for the welfare of the persons with disability under one umbrella in Chennai, according to S.S. Jawahar, Secretary, Department of the Welfare of the Differently Abled.
Speaking at the inauguration of the 3rd international conference on ‘Early intervention in mental retardation,' organised by the Madhuram Narayanan Centre for Exceptional Children, here on Thursday, he said: “Unified approach for helping the persons with disability is important. Universal coverage is our aim.”
The conference is being held on Friday and Saturday. Experts on the subject will come together to discuss early intervention in prevention, care and management of such children.
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The conference is held once in three years bringing together experts from across the globe and India. The purpose is to help families recognise the condition at an early age, crucial to providing support to the child, said Vimala Kannan, Associate Director, Madhuram Narayanan Centre for Exceptional Children.
“Our aim is to empower the parents of the exceptional children,” said Jaya Krishnaswamy, founder director of the Centre.
After the early intervention program ‘Upanayan', many children have entered mainstream schools, she added. Vice Chairman of the Sanmar Group N.Kumar spoke.
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Key themes
The key themes to be presented during the conference include recent trends in research towards early detection and prevention of disabilities, joint focussed interventions, medical and special education, information and communication technology, reaching out services, policy and programmes towards the implementation of the rights of child with disabilities.