Early intervention for the mentally challenged

CHENNAI: There is a huge need in the rural areas for awareness of how early intervention can help children who are mentally challenged to get into mainstream schools, asserted Jaya Krishnaswamy, director of Madhuram Narayanan Centre for Exceptional Children.Speaking at the Centre’s annual programme Jaya said, “Urban parents are aware that early intervention can really help mentally challenged children get mainstreamed. But in the rural areas, people have no idea. They still think such children are a shame on their families.”P R Sampath, Commissioner, Department for the Welfare of Differently Abled Persons, appreciated the efforts made by the Centre to get the government to hike the salary of special teachers from the present `5,000 to `10,000.Eleven boys and nine girls, who have undergone early intervention training and are joining mainstream and other special schools this academic year, were honoured with their parents.Shanthi, mother of Akshayan, an alumni of the Madhuram Narayanan Centre, now in Class 10 in Santhome Higher Secondary School, said, “When my son was three years old, I brought him every day to the centre for three years. After that we mainstreamed him. We are very happy with the results of early intervention. I think parents who have mentally challenged children should be made aware of how important early intervention is and how much it can achieve.”