About WE NURTURE FOUNDATION

"Your child is autistic" These words, when pronounced by a doctor, can be devastating for any parent. As a caregiver of a special needs child, the journey ahead is bumpy and unclear, more so without a proper roadmap. The constant struggle to fit-in is stressful. A general verdict is that of lifelong dependency for the child and worry for the caregivers. However, that's not an accurate picture. ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) doesn't automatically mean that all doors to a fruitful life are closed. Early (and interdisciplinary) intervention ensures significant functional independence even in a child on the high end of the spectrum. More importantly, when detected early, it is known to reverse the graph for a child on the lower end of the spectrum.

The term 'Autism' is broad and encompasses myriad combinations and degrees of autistic behaviour. In many ways, it's an inappropriate terminology for diagnosis that can range from learning difficulties to sensory perception issues to ADHD, and so on. One child's behaviour could be vastly disparate from another due to different combinations of developmental problems. Plus, the growth challenges could appear to be within normal and acceptable parameters where the skills are acquired later than usual but without intervention. As a consequence, most parents with children on the autism spectrum find it difficult to accept their child's diagnosis and do not seek help (in time).

Developmental issues could be as mild and seemingly harmless such as a delayed speech or extreme stranger anxiety—most children overcome these challenges within an acceptable time range. It is natural for the caregiver to not pay attention to these tiny but significant red flags in a child's growing journey—or as severe as cognitive and socio-emotional shortcomings where the society labels the child. The caregivers are ignorant about remedial therapy and shy away from reaching out due to social stigma. Interestingly, even children who are not on the Autism spectrum can have neurodevelopmental challenges like impaired speech or learning difficulties. Such children also benefit immensely through speech therapy and occupational therapy.

Every non-acquired (or even regressive) skill can be connected to a previously unmet developmental condition that might seem very innocuous and can escape attention. For instance, experts observe that speech delays in preschoolers may have their roots in their inability to latch to the mother's breast as a newborn. A child's journey could have such red flags that might look random and yet reveal a specific pattern when connected. Since each child displays a unique pattern, corrective action needs to take a holistic route for remedy. This characteristic of ASD is unfortunately left unaddressed even by the medical fraternity. There's an urgent need to bridge this gap.

The We Nurture Foundation (WNF) program uses comprehensive tools and assessment checklists, adapted and improvised from the original 'Comdeall' program, to connect these dots and map a child's growth. Its well-defined methodology diagnoses the severity of a child's condition and identifies where the child lies on the vast spectrum of autism. The developmental journey is traced back, in an extremely detailed manner, to a previously unconnected dot, and earmarked for a corrective process.

The assessment checklists include, apart from broad milestones like an infant's ability to hold its neck independently or to sit with support, ones that could go unnoticed like the first smile or eye movement on seeing a brightly coloured object. Therapists observe the child keenly, collect comprehensive data after going over 3500 questions with the caregiver, covering these growth peg points, and after a thorough analysis, design an exclusive remedial therapy that's tailor-made for the child. The program has seen significant success with several children overcoming the developmental challenges.

The ComDeall program reports a high success rate with children getting integrated into the mainstream with 1-2 years of intensive intervention therapy. The success rates are higher for children admitted at an early age, as young as three-years-old. That is not to suggest that older children do not see an improvement. They do, but after a longer duration of therapy. Hence, early detection assumes such a critical role.

The WNF approach is holistic because it caters to the child as a whole rather than merely treating the symptoms. It being interdisciplinary ensures all the therapists work in tandem towards a combined goal, alongside external but impacting factors like family, health, nutrition and daily routine, to aid a consistent and effective remedial course.