CHENNAI: It was a little over five years ago that a special camp to enumerate children with special needs led to the establishment of Neyam.A school for special children, Neyam is run by St Thomas Mount-cum-Pallavaram Cantonment Board at its high school premises at St Thomas Mount. It has bagged the best school for special children among all schools run in the Southern Command by the Cantonment Board, under the Ministry of Defence.“We conducted the camp towards the end of December 2011. The number of children with special needs and multiple disabilities in the jurisdiction of the Cantonment Board was high and there was a need for a school for them. The Cantonment Board immediately jumped on the idea,” recalled Parvathy Viswanathan, honorary director of Neyam.
Initially, there were about 10 students and the strength is now 45. Children who come here have multiple disabilities, learning disabilities, autism and cerebral palsy among others. The school has a physiotherapist, an occupational therapist, a special educator and two helpers.
The school was rated for services offered to the children and also for providing vocational training to elder students. “Children learn to make candles, fancy gift items, office envelopes, incense sticks and paper plates,” Parvathy said. K Nagalakshmi, mother of Sharmila, says her daughter began attending Neyam when she was six-months old. “She has attention and coordination-related problems. She is now nearly one-year-old and I am able to see some improvements,” she said. Sharmila trains under teachers like Chitra.
There are over 60 Cantonments all over India, including two in Tamil Nadu — Wellington, (Coonoor) and St Thomas Mount-cum-Pallavaram. In the Southern Command, which includes cities as far as Ahmedabad, there are 23 schools and the award is a recognition of the Cantonment Board’s commitment on this front, the staff said.