THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government will increase the assistance provided to children with mental disabilities, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said. He was chairing a meeting here on Monday to discuss the problems faced by children with special needs.At present, the families of such children are provided Rs28,500 annually. The government officers need to ensure the assistance is being distributed properly, the Chief Minister said.
Many children do not have access to facilities such as speech, physio and occupation therapists.
To address the situation, such services will be provided under the aegis of the Social Justice Department. The services of such specialists should be provided to children in private institutions also, the Chief Minister reminded. The employees of BUDS special schools will be protected if aided status is provided to such institutions. Pinarayi stressed on the need to evolve projects for the skill development and rehabilitation of children with special needs.
The Chief Minister directed the Secretary, Social Justice Department to discuss with various departments the problems faced by children with special needs and submit a report within a month.
Social Justice Department Minister K K Shailaja, Social Justice Secretary Biju Prabhakar, Health Secretary Rajeev Sadanandan, General Education Secretary Usha Titus and Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary V S Senthil participated in the meeting.