HYDERABAD: Aa chal ke tujhe, main le ke chaloon/Ik aise gagan ke tale/Jahan gam bhi na ho, aansoo bhi na ho/Bas pyaar hi pyaar pale…
The whole room of occupational therapists, counselors, special educators, and psychiatrists — ready with little notebooks and pens to meticulously take notes — started swaying their heads and tapping their feet as PV Varun rendered, ever so melodiously, the evergreen Kishore Kumar song from Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein. Applause reverberated across the Rainbow Children’s Heart Institute & Child Development Centre, and we all secretly wished that Varun, a student from Shankar Foundation, would go on and on…
But it was time to delve deep into pressing matters of the hour at TheraMeet, a flagship event hosted by Nayi Disha and organised in collaboration with Oyster Clinic - Child Development Centre, Marham, and Little Wings Child Development Centre. The event fostered knowledge-sharing and critical discussions on implementing open door and child protection policies to provide holistic care for children.
The event started with an insightful panel discussion titled ‘Building support ecosystems to help children thrive in a safe environment’. While it was moderated seamlessly by Nayi Disha founder and executive director Prachi Deo, the panelists — G Srinivasulu, assistant professor at NIEPID, Sridevi Prasad, founder of Shankar Foundation, Soumya Marella, parent of a child with developmental disabilities, and Padma Jyothi, author of Talking Fingers — spoke from both their expertise and hearts about the topic. Everyone was glued to the panel discussion, even asking questions to the panelists, who answered ever so patiently.
This was followed by speakers individually taking the dais to address key challenges in the field. Dr Nithya Narasimha Murthy, child and adolescent psychiatrist at Rainbow Children’s Hospital, highlighted the emotional demands of the profession, differentiated burnouts from depression, and emphasised the importance of self-care.
Dr Ravikanth Tangella, child and adolescent psychiatrist and director of Little Wings Child Development Centre, discussed evidence-based parent training, stressing the significance of parent-child interaction and the role of professionals in guiding parents with clarity.
Dr Sana Smriti, founder and developmental pediatrician at Oyster Clinic, advocated for family-centred care and collaborative planning with parents to achieve better outcomes. Sumita Nanda, COO and child protection officer at Latika Foundation, shed light on abuse related to children with developmental disabilities, its prevention, and more.
The attendees gained a lot of knowledge and hope from the event. “My son has developmental disabilities — the challenges he faces are due to society and lack of empathy in the world. The event hosted by Nayi Disha was an interesting and much-needed event, especially because both schools and parents are still not very aware about such issues,” said Latha, a mother and therapist.
Nayi Disha, an NGO that works as a life-long partner to families of children with autism, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, and other developmental disabilities, empowers them through counselling. Over the past eight years, Nayi Disha has reached over 7 lakh people and built a strong community of 54,000+ families.
After such rousing talks, participants felt motivated to work collaboratively with families and create greater impact in the lives they serve. Now, that is what we call true impact and change.