THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In an effort to transform the lives of autistic children through best practice principles and family-centered holistic care, an institution for autism and related disorders is coming up in the state capital. The Center for Autism and other Disabilities Rehabilitation Research and Education (CADRRE) will have G Vijaya Raghavan, founder director of NISH as the honorary director.
The centre, designed to cater to the needs of up to 50 children in the age group of 1.5 to 16 years, plans to start operations by the end of September 2017. It will have extensive indoor and outdoor facilities including play areas. Also technological assistance will be used for learning.
CADRRE is a not-for-profit entity set up with the assistance of Chandaria Foundation, UST Global, K Nandakumar, SunTec Business Solutions as donor patrons along with George M Thomas Foundation, Trivandrum International School as donor.
Comprehensive diagnosis and developmental assessment, evidence-based personalised intervention programme, development-specific and structured learning programme in addition to family education and support, empowering the family to be the primary therapist, fostering life skills and advocacy for autistic children and affected families will be part of the approach.
Discussions have already begun with leading centers in the United States to enable the training of the faculty of CADRRE. Based on the success of the Trivandrum Centre, new centres will be established in Kochi and Kozhikode in the first phase and in cities across the country in the next phase.
As per the plan, an independent campus will be built within five years. The campus will also provide assisted living for adults with disabilities.