Photo no.1] Residential camp participants.
2] 7.30 am, during yoga.
3] Dinner time at 8.00 pm.
4] 7.30 pm. recreation.
Camp of our mentally challenged students is going on expected lines. We do not find much problem. Gravity of the problem is a matter of approach we have. All problems can be avoided if we are pro active. If we know the limitation of students, then managing them in such camps is much easier. In fact what I have been observing in these camps since last more than five years is that, these mentally challenged children normally are not asking you any thing. The only thing probably they expect is to get what ever they are used to. A drastic change in the environment and expectation disturbs them. Since they are deficient in the adaptive skill, it is but natural that there performance level goes down. Having said this, in many cases we observe that what ever their parents have told us about his particular habit or liking or disliking, the child behaves contrary to that. For example, Shubhankar does not sleep alone in the night and some body should be sleeping very close to him routinely at home, his mother informed. But here in the camp, he slept on the independent bed with out any problem. One of the parents of the inmates informed that their child can not manage his toilet chorus independently, but here in the camp, he is managing his toilet activity with very minimum verbal prompting. Till this date all of them look like they are happy here except Padmanabh. Padmanabh seams to be reluctant from day one. He looks like in the shell and does not take interest in any activity or communication with his peers or staff. He seams to be under stress. And when on Friday, they were going for a visit to Lokmat Press by our school bus, he was so jubilant thinking that they are going back home. But for a exception, yesterday, when on the ground and playing football, he was participating and was enjoying the game also. And today in the hall during morning hours, he played tabla also. We did not know from his parents that he is interested in tabla playing. In fact, we had asked parents through a questioner, the relevant information regarding their child which will help us in better management in this residential camp. Few parents did provide the information though not sufficient but many of them did not take any trouble. All said and done, one thing is sure that our staff does a excellent job in taking due care of these non verbal mentally challenged children with out any complaint and with smiling faces.
Camp of our mentally challenged students is going on expected lines. We do not find much problem. Gravity of the problem is a matter of approach we have. All problems can be avoided if we are pro active. If we know the limitation of students, then managing them in such camps is much easier. In fact what I have been observing in these camps since last more than five years is that, these mentally challenged children normally are not asking you any thing. The only thing probably they expect is to get what ever they are used to. A drastic change in the environment and expectation disturbs them. Since they are deficient in the adaptive skill, it is but natural that there performance level goes down. Having said this, in many cases we observe that what ever their parents have told us about his particular habit or liking or disliking, the child behaves contrary to that. For example, Shubhankar does not sleep alone in the night and some body should be sleeping very close to him routinely at home, his mother informed. But here in the camp, he slept on the independent bed with out any problem. One of the parents of the inmates informed that their child can not manage his toilet chorus independently, but here in the camp, he is managing his toilet activity with very minimum verbal prompting. Till this date all of them look like they are happy here except Padmanabh. Padmanabh seams to be reluctant from day one. He looks like in the shell and does not take interest in any activity or communication with his peers or staff. He seams to be under stress. And when on Friday, they were going for a visit to Lokmat Press by our school bus, he was so jubilant thinking that they are going back home. But for a exception, yesterday, when on the ground and playing football, he was participating and was enjoying the game also. And today in the hall during morning hours, he played tabla also. We did not know from his parents that he is interested in tabla playing. In fact, we had asked parents through a questioner, the relevant information regarding their child which will help us in better management in this residential camp. Few parents did provide the information though not sufficient but many of them did not take any trouble. All said and done, one thing is sure that our staff does a excellent job in taking due care of these non verbal mentally challenged children with out any complaint and with smiling faces.
By: Navin Deshpande,Secretary, SSS
email: navindesh@gmail.com
website: www.sandnya.org
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