Latest news from Asha Kiran Ashram
Rev Dr Santhosh Kumar, the director of Asha Kiran Ashram, our special needs centre in Tamil Nadu, writes:
Greetings to you from Asha Kiran Ashram. Thank you very much for your valuable help for our Asha Kiran Ashram home and school for the disabled.
The home and school activities are developing slowly but steadily. The Special Education program and the physiotherapy training are helping our students to develop their skills.
SPECIAL EDUCATION DEVELOPMENTS
MURUGAVEL ; Now he can read and identify the birds like Parrot, Dove, Crow, animals like Elephant, Tiger, Bear, Lion, vehicles Auto rickshaw, Car, Motor Bike, Bus etc. with the help of pictures. He can read numbers from 11 to 20. He is getting improvement in studies and sports.
SANTHYA: She knows how to read and identify the months January to December in the calendar. In mathematics she is learning to add single digit figures. She is getting improvement in sports activities and writing.
Physiotherapy patients include Shaba Begam, a 25-year old woman, who is having intense physiotherapy to strengthen her muscles and joints, and to improve their flexibility. Her exercises include standing and walking with parallel bars, and learning to stand up on her own. This has been effective; she has better movement in her joints (both range of movement and control), can now stand with minimal support, and can walk using the parallel bars. She has club foot which means that she cannot stand straight; calipers would help this.
Essakiammal, a sixteen year old girl, is more disabled. Her treatment includes inproving the flexibility of her joints, exercises to strengthen her spine, and learning to sit up and kneel on her own. She is learning to crawl; to kneel she needs to be supported. She can now sit up for extended periods, her muscles are more relaxed, and her joints are more mobile. However, she still suffers from pain and weakness in her muscles.
Once again thank you very much for all your help for our project.
Dr.P.J.Santhosh Kumar.