THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Known to be the first autism centre under the Sarva Sikhsha Abhiyan’s South Urban resource centre (URC) in the state, Satram School, Fort, will unveil a multi-sensory park for autistic children. The sensory park which has been set up with the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund of Rs 5 lakh provided by SBI Life Insurance, will provide effective treatment for children with sensory dysfunction.
About 33 different pieces of equipment have been set up in the sensory park dealing with visual, audio, tactile sensations and fine motor skills. Some equipment have been specially designed depending on the model of sensory equipment in other autism centres.
In addition to the focus on the five senses, the sensory park includes two important sensations dealing with body balance and postures. The teachers at the centre have designed some equipment for the park. "We have designed equipment as per requirements of the autistic children at our centre. Through the sensory park, we will be able to identify the issues these children undergo based on which training can be provided,” said Annie Stephen, resource teacher at Satram School.
The autism centre started with just seven children but now it provides training to around 126 autistic children with the help of four teachers. Among these, 29 autistic children are below the age of seven. “We identified that most children in our centre had sensory issues such as walking on stones or feeling uncomfortable wetting their legs. To help these children recover, we considered setting up a multi-sensory park. Parents and teachers will also be included in the training programme,” said A Najeeb, block programme officer, South URC.
The sensory park will be inaugurated on Friday in the presence of Minister for Education, C Raveendranath, V S Sivakumar MLA, Anand Pillai, SBI regional manager and other dignitaries.
