The Early days....

The first few months of his birth seemed endless...He had severe reflux, which meant he threw up often and we were constantly worried if he was getting enough nutrition. Anybody who has seen him at that stage, including me did not feel he would survive long...but the fighter he is managed to pull through...Then began the endless trips to hospitals, doctors, quacks, astrologers....Every doctor we visited wanted to wait and watch, which I think is right to some extent because the babies brains are growing at a faster rate and there are constant changes and development, which means you cannot correctly anticipate what they can achieve and what they cannot..


Those were days when we were in a state of denial. Any doctor who gave us hope was good and anyone who did not, did not know what he was talking...By now we had done CT scans, MRI scans and what not...

Choose your doctors with care, because if your doctor is not giving you the correct picture, you will lose out on precious time and any timely interventions, which might have helped the child. Sometimes you go by reputation and sometimes by experience and sometimes by intuition. I really appreciate doctors who have the guts to refer to other doctors , when they know they do not have expertise rather than misleading the hapless patient...

Those were crazy days; I would interact with anybody who was even remotely connected to this condition. One such doctor I met was a paediatrician from Chicago Children’s Hospital who was visiting his parents in India and he told me the story of his brother-in –law who had severe brain damage and that he was pursuing his university degree. He took one look at Yatish’s MRI scan and told me don’t ever give up on him, give your best and he will do the rest. At that moment, he seemed like God to me....

http://www.learninginfo.org/neuroplasticity.htm

Every parent wishes that her child should be the most intelligent and smart, but then the onus is on us. If you provide a nurturing and loving environment every child will do well. I believe that every child has immense potential.

http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/4356.htm


The most important thing is to start early as in Early intervention, if you think your child is not catching up. Yatish started his infant stimulation programme at the age of 6 months at Sophia Opportunity School

(Sophia Opportunity School Sisters of Notre Dame, # 70, Palace Road, Bangalore 560 001 Tel: 22205683, E-mail: sr_naina@hotmail.com; Directress: Sr Mary Naina, Web: http://www. sophiaos.org. )

It not only helped Yatish, but it did wonders to my state of mind. I learnt more and more about his condition there. I met some very dedicated therapists and special educators. Riteish, Priya Sandeep, Arati,Cedricia and of course Sr. Naina. They have a decent set up and the advantage of access to resources from generous donors to their missionary....