INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE DISABLED

Mrs Chitra, Health Communicator, Nishta Team

Today Dec 3, is the International Day of the Disabled. The theme this year is : Empowering persons with disabilities and ensuring inclusiveness and equality.    There are scores of programs, schemes  etc. towards this goal  but then why haven’t we still not been able to empower the disabled adequately? Empowerment has a deeper connotation than enabling in the context of the disabled. There needs to be a change in the mindset of the society at large as well as the disabled themselves.

Serving the underprivileged should be more than a mere lip service. Supporting a disabled person adequately means designing our plans be it for a party or work or an event considering the challenged in our plans. Given the rate of disabilities that we see in our society, we need to be more sensitive about this issue. In the race to be the best we even forget our own self, but it is time to reflect on issues of social concern with a genuity. 

There are numerous stories of heroes with disabilities and one common streak in them is their will to get out of their self-pity. Heroes are inspiring and the most inspiring aspects of the heroes with disability is their will to win over their weaknesses and barriers.

Tamilnadu has inspiring stories of Shri.H.Ramakrishnan, Ms.Preethi Srinivasan,Shri Ramakrishnan, Shri.Sankarraman and many more. Let us take a leaf out of their notes.  In the state of Jallikattu revolution and Gaja relief work this should not be a problem. The society including the disabled should make a move. Let’s do it.

 A thought is the seed that transforms into a tree called action, so let us think about this today and work with a goal to empower the disabled and ensure inclusiveness and equality in the society

Let the action begin!!*

Dr.S.Subramanian

Autism has been recognized as a neurological condition characterized by difficulty in social skills of those afflicted. Autistic people do have emotions and empathy. They are not a class to be condemned. Many have good intelligence. 

Autism as a condition has gained global attention in the recent past. With evolving research and ideologies focusing on causes, prevention and therapies the need of the hour is for us the general society to understand the context and concepts behind it. As with any evolving field, there are going to be new theories postulated and certain old thoughts thwarted. We have to be mature and dynamic enough to accept the ones with solid scientific base and reject the flawed ones. 

More than lack of understanding, a major dissuader in autism awareness is the set of myths associated with it. It takes a very short time span for the myths to spread while it takes a painstaking effort to remove those. One of the popular misconceptions was linking childhood vaccines to be a trigger. This notion is still in the minds of many while it has been scientificallyproved and accepted by the medical fraternity that vaccinations do not contribute to autism.Another misconception was that parenting style is a contributor to autism, with autistic kids lacking the maternal warmth in their upbringing. 

“Vasudaiva kutumbakam”, is a popular quote by many. It means the world is a family. Is it not time we extend this into action? If one among the family is different, we do our best toaccommodate their interests, we try to understand them. Same goes to our autistic brethren. While they take their strides towards progress, we the more mature and supposedly better endowed with social skills need to be accommodating them as part of our society.  We need to facilitate the social life of autistic people. Try to be empathetic, teach young ones to accommodate such people in peer groups. Be it school or workplace or a public forum, let us welcome them. Please remember they do not need our sympathy, we need to understand and accommodate them.  

While science strives to help the cause of autism, I strongly believe the society is the biggest contributor in empowering the autistic. 

As a pediatrician, it is heartwarming to see many children cruise out of illness. But I do not want to stop at that. I want to see what we can do as a society to help the not too lucky among us. Chennaiites are known for their activism for a cause. Be it flood relief or jallikattu protest. I want the youth to use their power of viral uprising to understand, facilitate and fight for the cause of a dignified life for the autistic. Are you with me?

*This article is reproduced from the Autism awareness booklet by Nishta Neurodevelopment Centre 

FLAT FEET

Here are a few facts about FLAT FEET, shared by our physiotherapist Mr.Lokesh Kumar.

What are flat feet?

 Most adult feet have an arch along the inside edge of the foot. Flat foot is when this arch is apparently absent or reduced in standing. The arches may ‘appear’ when your child is sitting, when the big toe is bent backwards or if your child stands on tiptoe. Before the age of 3 all children have flat feet, as the arch on the inside of the foot does not begin to develop until after this age.

What causes flat feet?

 The many bones in the feet are held together by stretchy bands called ligaments. Flat feet are usually due to loose or soft ligaments and baby fat between the foot bones. This causes the arch to fall when your child stands up which is why flat feet are sometimes called “fallen arches”. The typical flat foot is flexible and most children have no symptoms. Flat feet can occasionally be caused by tight muscles, which is more likely to cause pain. There are different terms that are used to describe flat feet but essentially they all mean the same thing.

 They are: · Pes planus · Pes valgus · Pronated feet · Fallen arches

Will my child need treatment?

 If your child does not have any associated problems with their flat feet then they are unlikely to need treating. Many people have a long -standing belief that flat feet are abnormal and require treatment with special shoes, insoles or even splints or braces. We now know that the majority of children between 1-5 years of age have flat feet. This is part of normal development of their feet and over 95 percent of children grow out of their flat feet and develop a normal arch. The other 5 percent continue to have flat feet, but only a small number will ever have a problem. Most children with a persistent flat foot participate in physical activities, including competitive sports, and experience no pain or other symptoms. It is less important how your foot looks as to how it functions. However, if your child complains of foot, ankle or knee pain, or has poor balance, or poor stamina in walking, then a referral to see a physiotherapist may be necessary. They can then assess the problem and treat appropriately if required.

 What would be the treatment?

 Treatment for a more severe or painful flat foot can consist of exercises and/or stretches for your child to do. It can also include your physiotherapist referring your child to an orthotist or podiatrist who specialise in providing corrective devices such as arch supports (insoles) to put in your child’s shoes. Most children with painless flexible flat feet do not need any treatment. Insoles will not change the shape of the foot and are therefore not a ‘cure’; they simply hold the foot in a better position so that it can work more effectively and may help reduce some of the symptoms.

 Will anything make it worse?

 No, you do not need to restrict your child’s activities. Walking barefoot, running, doing foot exercises or jumping will not make flat feet better or worse. Supportive footwear is always recommended for your child’s feet.

 

MATHLOGIC OR MATHEMAGIC?

Is Math Magic or Logic?

Too often, we are puzzled with the topic in question – Is math a magic or logic? Let’s unfold the logic behind the magic.

Math is based on pattern, language, symbol, and visuo-spatial aspects.  If we can appreciate the importance of these aspects, math can be a cakewalk. The first step toward decoding the logic is to understand the various operators, symbols and remember them. Then the logic behind each one of them can be revealed and as it unfolds, one can work magic with it.

Based on language and symbol math is a logic. For example let’s take the word “Volume”. Volume of a cone is different from volume of a radio or voluminous meaning volume of a book.

When we take a symbol at the elementary level, the four main operations are plus, minus, multiply and division. When we take the operation of division the symbols that are introduced for the same concept are first L  then ) followed by) ---- (   and of course /.  

In the above concept, the visuo spatial aspect is concerned and the visuo spatial is connected to pictures with magic and the space it occupies is logic.

Let’s see the magic. For example 4.1.2018 can be written as 2 ².1 ². 4² + 4 4 ²+2. Isn’t this pattern a magic?

So from 0 to 9 the numbers with their vibrant patterns, language, symbol and visuospatial profile make Math Magic and Logic too!! You can work magic if you can first understand the logic. It is indeed fun!!

Mrs.Sujatha Sriram

Department Head of Special Education

Nistha Center