Swabhimaan

A special bud

Of all the five senses, no two are unique and identical. Every organ has its own role to play and cannot be disregarded for a matter of speciality or unimportance. Mind is the best creative aspect that a human can have. Manas is activated by all the sensory organs of the body through mind-body relation. Biologically speaking manas is the brain.

Swabhimaan is a Trust, working for the welfare of people with autism in India. It is located on the outskirts of Chennai. This Trust is a five-year old dream of Indian medical doctors and parents of special children. You may be aware that few organisations have been founded exclusively for special children with the disorder.

At Swabhimaan, the Indian system of medicine for the development of children is practised. Often, special care is needed to treat children with autism for they are special buds. This is a pilot project where for the first time Indian medicine is made use of in the treatment. Parents are often amazed to find that their children are capable of learning a sport fairly comprehensively.

Before going into the details about Swabhimaan, let’s have a look at the definition of Autism and what causes this syndrome. The occurrence of autism is found at a rate of approximately 1 in 500 of the population. At India’s current population, this means that there are 1.7 million autistic persons in the country. The majority of autistic people in India has not been diagnosed and do not receive the services they need. Parents are unaware of Autism and what causes this behavioural disorder.

You should not think why a heavy topic is discussed here in a Travel magazine of Chennai. This is a topic that has to be discussed so as to create awareness in you.

Sometimes, you or your family members could have been afflicted and left undiagnosed without knowing about it.

Autism is a condition that affects some children from either birth or infancy and leaves them unable to make out normal relationships or to develop normal communication. It is found that this is prevalent in boys than girls and is beyond race, geography and status. If untreated in childhood, it may lead to severe complications at adulthood. They exhibit repeated body movements and show an unusual response to people and usually resist changes to routine life.

Strictly speaking, Autism should not be mistaken as mental illness. It can be rightly related to a spectrum disorder wherein the symptoms and characteristics can put forward several combinational symptoms. No two autism affected children will behave in a similar way. Some babies react to external sound and respond to it after 3 – 5 months of birth. This is generally taken as the yardstick for a normal growth. These children have a disturbed mind-body relationship where the natural rhythm does not remain in harmony. Of course, music is a substitute to induce waves that would rejuvenate the 'self and body' togetherness.

A parent may take their child to a paediatrician only to be reassured that their child is just "slow." Unsatisfied with the treatment, they may visit a psychologist, only to be told their child is "mentally subnormal." Convinced that their child does not fit the typical picture of mental retardation, they may visit a psychiatrist, to be told that their child has attention deficit disorder, and must be put on medication. After months this will also go futile and the next search starts. Ultimately the bulls-eye was not hit. These lines are repetitive in the journal for special disorders.

Dr.Bernard Rimland, a Californian psychologist and founder of Autism Society of America rightly classifies it into neurological dysfunctions like dyslexia and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

There are so many theories about what causes autism. On the outset, it is important to stress that no clear-cut answer exists on the question of cause. The practical causes noted under observation were poor parenting, toxicity dosages during pre-natal period, genetic inheritance, a complication in pregnancy and child birth. Rubella virus and Herpes encephalitis virus are found to attack the brain of the child.

Today Environmental toxicity is regarded as a major triggering cause of autism. Environmental pollution like intensive usage of artificial pesticides and manures, water contamination, air pollution, sound pollution, leaded petrol, vaccines, amalgams, improper solid and liquid waste management and increased exposure to electromagnetic forces are some agents.

At Swabhimaan, the care and attention have been much above the level of general care. The doctors who teach yoga will also play football with the children. There is always a totally holistic approach and major problems are addressed with care. During the course of treatment, parents too equally involve themselves and play their role well. The school is called as Bodhi Vruksham where verbal behaviour analysis is being implemented.

Swabhimaan, headed by Dr.Partheeban, helps to shape these special children with disorder into responsible citizens. The future plans are to train naturopathy, Ayurvedic and Siddha doctors into this, involve special educators who can inculcate yoga workshops, run a specialized pharmacy and open a multi-care holistic centre with ultra modern facilities. 

Some of these children have improved their social relationship and behavioural patterns. After treatment, they have higher awareness and lower anxiety levels. This has helped them to enrol in regular schools. Some children are un-doubtfully very normal until a close observation is done. After the treatment here, they are near normal and ready to face the society independently. He invited us to come again in the morning so that he could take us around an another unit that runs vocational courses in weaving, paper cup manufacturing and special bakery products. He also underlined that milk-product is a strict ‘no’ for special children as it would delay their digestion and metabolic rate.

Dr. P.K.Partheeban

Swabhimaan is managed by a team of dedicated doctors comprising: Dr.P.K.Partheeban, Dr.Karthikeyan, Dr.Dhilip, Dr.Jayshreee and Dr.Kumaresan. The special educators need a special mention for their patience and motherly affection. Our sincere wishes to Dr.Partheeban's team for the special service they do which is unnoticed by many.  Contribution to this trust is exempted in Income Tax u/s 80G. I was moved by his humble gesture of receiving and sending us off at the gate with love.

Every one of us would normally spend few thousands for cinema, hotel, travel, holidaying, on wasteful purchases and shopping. Every year, why can't we set apart a portion from this for Autism cause? After reading this article you would have gained an insight and awareness about autism, didn't you? This is not a hospital or asylum. This is a special care centre.

Let us wait patiently for this special bud to fully blossom into a beautiful flower. Swabhiman will take care in nurturing the saplings in their nursery and make it grow into a vruksham.

For details contact: 

SWABHIMAAN TRUST,

(Holistic solutions for autism),

Plot No.301, Palkalai Nagar, Palavakkam, Chennai 600041.

Phone: 044- 24511670, 9841127599

Email: info@autismchennai.in, ism_chhc@hotmail.com

_________________________________

* Travel & Shopp-Oct 2007.