VISAKHAPATNAM: The cerebral palsy clinic of Ramakrishna Mission in the city treats children affected by cerebral palsy, down syndrome, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), giving a ray of hope to the affected children. The clinic now adds Sandplay therapy, spider therapy and hydrotherapy.
The clinic which previously catered only to the cerebral palsy patients, now offers therapy to autism, nerve palsy, down syndrome and ADHD. But the therapists at the clinic say that there is need for awareness among the parents. There are many parents who neglect their children affected with such syndromes.
“About 80 per cent of children affected with cerebral palsy is due to consanguineous marriages and in recent times there is an increase in the number of patients from Vizag district, while 20 per cent is from Odisha,” said B Indira, Master of Physiotherapy (MPT), Neuro Sciences, in the clinic. “However, while it was only 35 children who used to get treated till 2016, they increased to 64 of late which is mostly due to the word-of-mouth publicity,” she added.
Since the therapies are effective, the 25-year-old clinic is seeing more patients from Pendurthi, Tagarapuvalasa, Chodavaram, Anakapalli, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and neighbouring states. “Sandplay, spider, hydro and sensing pots apart from the regular therapies, showed immediate response.
They felt much more happy spending time with their mothers. For instance, sandplay therapy controls involuntary movements and eases muscle coordination. They lose the fear of falling down and getting hurt,” said Indira.
“Despite long way to go for full recovery, we are happy to see improvement in the condition of children everyday. My daughter Protsahinin, who is one-and-a-half years old, has a problem standing and balancing her neck. She was previously given physiotherapy near our place, but after treatment here for 20 days she improved.
Being in an environment with other children, they will definitely improve,” said a Tagarapuvalasa woman.