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Durga Mohan, an 11 yrs old female child was born as the second child in the Mohan’s family. She was born as a pre-term baby of 7 months and the delivery was by Caesarean Section. Early suck reflex was delayed as the baby was in ICU for 20 days immediately after delivery. There was a history of Birth Asphyxia also.
In the neonatal period, the developmental milestones of the baby were delayed, specifically, social smile, rolling, head control, creeping and crawling. All the above functions were achieved gradually. Durga achived independent ‘W’ sitting position in her early stages and she gradually began to stand with support. Fine and gross motor functions of hand were less compared to other motor functions. Even now she is having problems with her hand functions. In the early stages, drooling was present though now it is very much controlled. Slurred speech is also present.
Durga, now identified as suffering from Cerebral Palsy, Diplegic variety with involvement of the upper limbs, joined adarsh at the age of 3. The major part of her developments occurred at adarsh. At Adarsh, she was given appropriate physiotherapy which enabled her to strengthen her weak functions. She left adarsh at the age of 6. By then, she was able to stand and walk with support. To get maximum relief from spasticity, Durga had also undergone surgery. After the operation she started to walk with very little support and with much ease.
Today, Durga is studying as 2nd grade student at Little Flower L.P. school, Thripunithura, Ernakulam. Teachers and peers are quite supportive of Durga. She has been provided with special furniture in the school. A helper has been appointed to take care of her needs such as toileting, feeding, helping with academics etc. Possessing an above average IQ, she performs very well in academics, always ensuring that she stands among the top 2 or 3 in her class. Unlike for other children, the school is conducting oral examinations for Durga. She likes music very much and is happy to participate in a variety of events in school festivals like fancy dress, Oppana etc.
Durga is finding it happy and comfortable in the new school atmosphere. She is enjoying like any other normal child in spite of her difficulties. Durga’s parents are also very happy to send her to a normal mainstream school. But in our normal system of school education, she cannot hope to make much progress in a mainstream school, as here the stress is more on academics rather than the social and vocational skills that such a child might possess. Keeping this view, a system of Open Schooling may be more suited to her needs, where appropriate relief can be given on some systems, keeping in mind her disability.
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