It's a first of its kind in India: a computer software for early intervention in mentally disabled children
Under the benevolent helmsmanship of former air vice-marshal V. Krishnaswamy and his wife Jaya, both close to 80, a small and dedicated team at the Madhuram Narayanan Centre for Exceptional Children (MNC) trains and educates children of age 0-6 with various forms of mental retardation. The electrical engineer and teacher were coasting towards retirement when a chance encounter with another social worker gave them ideas about how to spend their autumn years productively.
As a first step, the Krishnaswamy couple tried to computerise an American rehabilitation programme for children with mental developmental problems. After studying it, Jaya soon realised that the programme, in its original shape, was unsuited to Indian conditions. She rewrote it, and that’s how Upanayan was born thirteen years ago.
This computer-aided training publication revolves around an early intervention programme for children with symptoms of mental retardation. It was the first time a programme based on Indian conditions and child-rearing traditions had been developed. Also, it was the first time computers had been used to facilitate such a programme. Today, the programme has identified 50 basic skills in five development areas including cognition, language and motor skills.
MNC was set up in December 1989, with the support of Indchem, a Sanmar group company, to disseminate the programme to a larger audience. Within a year, over 75 children had been enrolled, and about 2,700 children have since passed out of MNC. The school is free, and the Krishnaswamys themselves don’t take any salary. Even the staff of about 20 special educators work on honorariums. MNC runs on grants from the government and the Sanmar group.
They not only train the children but also the parents so that the process of teaching extends to home. "Our aim is the development of the children. But equally important is the empowerment of parents. They too are mentally shattered," says Krishnaswamy. Every parent is trained to become a co-therapist and they eventually become teacher aids for other children here.
The centre, which works between 9.00 am and 3.00 pm, functions at three levels—infant stimulus, pre-school and preparation for functional academics. "Our programme’s chief feature is that it’s observable and measurable," says the couple.
In their efforts to improve the programme, they’ve now launched a tabulation process whereby every student’s data relating to levels of training, reactions and development is documented and computerised, providing invaluable research material. They also plan to launch software for training 4-plus children. Young software professionals and students work as volunteers for this work.
"There are about 60 lakh mentally backward children in the country," points out Krishnaswamy. "There is no way to teach each one. We have to disseminate information for maximum impact." Towards this end, MNC has motivated organisations like Southern Railway, bhel Air Force Wives Association etc to start early intervention centres, which MNC monitors. It has also translated its programme into regional languages to maximise its reach.
For more information, contact Madhuram Narayanan Centre for Exceptional Children, 126, G. N. Chetty Road, T. Nagar. Chennai 600017; Ph: 044-28281042