TN to implement early intervention programme for disabled children

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu is likely to implement a State-level early intervention programme for children with disabilities, to improve their long-term function, said S Sankara Raman from Amar Seva Sangam, a NGO working in the field of disability services and advocacy. On Monday, he released a performance analysis report on the work that the NGO has done in certain blocks of Tirunelveli. 

The programme uses community and family participation models and software that can be used to monitor the progress of children with various developmental disabilities. The early intervention programs which were given to 1,252 children identified with disabilities, has shown improvement in their ‘Functional Independence Measure’ and ‘Gross Motor Function Measure’, in addition to significantly improving their attendance in schools to 85%, said Raman.

The organisation has screened over 50,000 children under the age of 6. and 3,000 anganwadi workers, nurses and community rehabilitation workers from Tirunelveli were sensitised on early intervention, a statement from the organisation said, adding 679 children were referred for surgery. 

The State government has agreed to fund the expansion of the project in 3 districts, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Thenkasi, for the year 2020. The Amar Seva Sangam will be a hosting a conference on early intervention on Friday and Saturday. www.amarseva.org