KOCHI: Three years after it became the first Block Resource Centre in Kerala to introduce a full-fledged physiotherapy centre for differently-abled children, the Edavanakkad BRC proves to be a model in taking care of the physically challenged children.“One of the teachers’ here had a differently-abled child. For treatment purposes, the child had to stay away from school most of the days. She felt the need of a physiotherapy centre where children could get treatment without missing their schools. So under the Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC) scheme under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the first physiotherapy centre was started with 20 students,” said Bhanupriyan NA, Block Project Officer of Edavanakkad BRC.Today the BRC has a separate building equipped with all the gadgets to undertake physiotherapy sessions. Twice in a week treatment is given to students with the help of a physiotherapist and the resource teachers. The BRC has also introduced parent-oriented treatment programme where the parents are taught how to administer treatments at home. A hearing and speech therapy centre with two speech therapists also functions here. Besides this the BRC has also been conducting regular medical camps for students with various disabilities.The response for the programme has been tremendous. Some parents are planning to move their children from CBSE schools to the government-run Edavanakkad UP School to avail of treatment benefits. “We have to travel for hours to get regular treatment for our children. It becomes very tiring and expensive too. For a ten-day session, the amount comes around `10,000. So we have spoken with the Principal about getting an admission to the new school here,” says Rejitha (name changed), one of the parents whose child is suffering from muscular damage on his left side. Today, new born children and also students in their late teens are admitted in the BRC.The Edavanakkad BRC’s functioning has also not been well for past couple of months. Since December, salary is not paid for the one physiotherapist employed there. “The funds allotted by the government lasted only for four months. So from January we have been depending on private sponsors to pay the physiotherapists,” said Bhanupriyan.Though the Vypeen area alone needs treatment for more than 135 students, the BRC now treats only 39 children. Lack of staff is the reason for to it. Comparing to other BRCs, Edavanakkad BRC is better, said Cinto Antony, Physiotherapist Edavankkad BRC. “I work for four BRCs, all of whom have stopped paying salaries since last four months. In many places the sessions have stopped completely. Here, at least the treatment is going on,“ said Cinto Antony.
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