Children learn through everyday activities, experiences and interactions with the environment around them. These could include doing things independently (feeding, dressing, toileting, household chores), being a part of leisure and learning activities, being at school, being with friends and accessing public spaces (park, theatres, playgrounds, malls, restaurants). Children with disabilities (Autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, Learning Disability, etc) and their caregivers have repeatedly voiced the ability to participate in these activities as being part of their most important hopes and dreams.
However, children with disabilities in India and across the world participate less in all settings and experience more barriers to participation when compared to their nondisabled peers. Ummeed is committed to support and enhance the participation of children with disabilities in different settings (home, school and community). Ummeed’s clinicians use a multi-disciplinary approach to improve participation, which includes supporting the child’s development and addressing the barriers to participation in the environment around the child.
The child's development is supported by clinical assessments and therapies and by working closely with caregivers. We are family centered in our approach and recognize and believe that caregivers know their children and context the best. We use a strengths-based approach and identify the strengths of the child and their caregiver and work towards addressing their challenges and needs. This may mean designing activities that are mindful of your and your child's preferences and strengths to support further development. Supporting caregiver mental health is crucial to providing a nurturing environment for every child. Our mental health team works closely with caregivers and clinicians from other disciplines to support the mental health of caregivers as required.
As you and your child explore and engage with activities in different settings (going to the park, attending a birthday party, attending school), a periodic review of what helps or hinders participation will be done. Strategies to address these barriers will be included in the plan. Implementation of this plan requires close collaboration between the family and the clinicians at Ummeed and other important adults in the community. A range of strategies is used to address different kinds of barriers (e.g. negative attitudes, physical barriers, lack of opportunities). The social work team helps families navigate their journey within and outside Ummeed and helps advocates for the rights of the children with disabilities.
In addition to Ummeed's clinical assessments and therapies, we also house an Early Intervention Center (EIC). The EIC is a year-long, caregiver-child, play-based program to help make children with disabilities school-ready.
Further, Ummeed also understands the importance of caregivers learning from each others' lived experiences and provides various opportunities through the Family Resource Center. This includes providing access to parent support groups to connect with each other, caregiver-specific trainings and sharing resources to help the parent navigate this journey with their child.
