We Reach Out To You

Sakshi Sharma
Aug 12, 2024
10 min read

Welcome to Beautiful Minds

A disability is a condition that makes it difficult for a person to do certain activities, or effectively interact with the world around them. These conditions may be present in any form such as cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, sensory, or a combination of multiple factors. Such conditions responsible for disability may be present from birth or can be acquired during a person's lifetime.

Often, disabled people are unnecessarily isolated and excluded from full participation in society.

Samagrah Foundation started working for the cause of the empowerment of the children with special needs and established a learning and development center named Beautiful Minds.

We reach out to Individuals with:

WE REACH OUT TO INDIVIDUALS WITH:

Our learning and development center reaches out to individuals with following disabilities:

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism is a neurodevelopment disorder characterized by difficulties with social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior.

Some children show signs of ASD in early infancy, such as reduced eye contact, lack of response to their name or impassiveness to caregivers. Other children may develop normally for the first few months or years of life, but then suddenly become withdrawn or aggressive or lose language skills they've already acquired. The signs pointing towards ASD usually are seen by the age of 2.

A person (child or adult) with autism spectrum disorder may have problems with social interaction and communication skills, including any of these signs:

Unresponsive to his/her name.
Poor eye contact and lack of facial expression
Delayed speech, or no recollection of previous ability to speak.
Difficulty in starting a conversation or keeping one going
Speaking with an abnormal tone or rhythm
Using a singsong voice or robot-like speech
Repeating words or phrases verbatim, but doesn't understand how to use them
Difficulty in understanding simple questions or directions
Doesn't express emotions or feelings and are impassive of others' feelings

Treatments and Therapies for ASD

Behavior and communication therapies. – A reward-based motivation system encourages children to learn new skills and generalize these skills to multiple situations. It is a part of Applied behavior analysis (ABA)

Educational therapies. Children with autism spectrum disorder often respond well to highly structure educational programs.

Family therapies. Parents and other family members can learn how to play and interact with their children. This may help the children learn social interaction skills, manage problem behaviors, and teach daily living skills and communication and strengthen the bond amongst family members.

Other therapies. Depending on your child's needs, various therapies can prove to be helpful such as:

speech therapy to improve communication skills,
occupational therapy to teach activities of daily living, and
physical therapy to improve movement and balance

Medications. No medication has proved to be helpful in improving the core signs of autism spectrum disorder, but specific medications can help control symptoms.

Managing other medical and mental health conditions children can experience in addition to autism spectrum disorder:

Medical health issues. Your child’s medical health provider can help you manage issues such as epilepsy, sleep disorders, limited food preferences, stomach problems and other problems children may face with autism spectrum disorder.

Anxiety And Depression - Teens and young adults with autism spectrum disorder may have difficulty understanding body changes or adapting in unfamiliar environment. This may lead to anxiety and depression. You can get help from medical and health professionals regarding your child’s mental health.

Future Planning

Children with autism spectrum disorder will continue to learn and grow throughout life, but most will continue to require a level of support. Planning for your child's future such as employment, college, living situation, and the services required for support can make this process smoother.

Attentive – Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a brain disorder characterized by an ongoing pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development.

Types of ADHD

ADHD is divided into three main types:

inattentive type
hyperactive-impulsive type
combination type

Inattentive Type - If your child has this type of ADHD, he/she may experience more symptoms of inattention. They may struggle with impulse control or hyperactivity at times, but these aren’t the main characteristics of inattentive ADHD.

Characteristics of inattentive behavior are:

missing details and getting distracted easily
getting bored quickly
having trouble focusing on a single task
having difficulty organizing thoughts and learning new information
losing essential tools or other items needed to complete a task
inattentiveness (lack of listening skills)
processing information more slowly and less accurately than others
having trouble following directions

Hyperactive-impulsive type

This type of ADHD is characterized by symptoms of impulsivity and hyperactivity. People with this type can display signs of inattention, but it’s not as marked as the other symptoms.

Characteristics of impulsive or hyperactive behavior are:

Constantly feeling of restlessness
having difficulty sitting still
talking constantly
touching and playing with objects, even when inappropriate to the task at hand
having trouble engaging in quiet activities
impatience
acting out of turn without thinking about consequences of their actions

Children with hyperactive-impulsive type ADHD can be a disruption in the classroom. They can make learning more difficult for themselves and other students.

Combined type

If your child has the combination type ADHD, it means that the symptoms don’t necessarily fall within the inattention or hyperactive-impulsive behavior. Instead, your child might exhibit a combination of symptoms from both categories.

Psychotherapy and Psychosocial Interventions

The behavior occurs more often and interferes with how your child functions at home, school, and in social situations.

Type of ADHD your child has can change as the symptoms can change over time. ADHD can be a lifelong challenge. But medication and other treatments can help improve your quality of life.

You may be able to manage ADHD with therapeutic options, medication, or both. But treatment isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. It’s important to work with your doctor if you think your treatment plan isn’t helping you.

Psychosocial interventions have been shown to help individuals with ADHD and their families in managing symptoms and improving everyday functioning.

Mental health professionals can help parents acquire knowledge about ADHD and how it affects a family. They also will help the child and his or her parents develop new skills, attitudes, and ways of relating to each other. All types of therapy for children and teens with ADHD require parents to play an active role. Teachers and Parents can help establish clear rules, chore lists, and structured routines to help a person control their behavior.

Down syndrome

Down syndrome (sometimes called Down’s syndrome) is a condition in which a child is born with an extra copy of their 21st chromosome, therefore know as Trisomy 21. This causes physical and mental developmental delays and disabilities. Many of the disabilities are life-long, and they can also shorten life expectancy. However, people with Down syndrome can live healthy and fulfilling lives. Recent medical advances, as well as cultural and institutional support for people with Down syndrome and their families, provides many opportunities to help overcome the challenges of this condition.

What causes Down syndrome?

In all cases of reproduction, both parents pass their genes on to their children. These genes are carried in chromosomes. When the baby’s cells develop, each cell is supposed to receive 23 pairs of chromosomes, for 46 chromosomes total. Half of the chromosomes are from the mother, and half are from the father.

In children with Down syndrome, one of the chromosomes doesn’t separate properly. The baby ends up with three copies, or an extra partial copy, of chromosome 21, instead of two. This extra chromosome causes problems as the brain and physical features develop.

Treatments

Speech therapy - Treats people with speech and language problems.

Occupational Therapy - Improves daily living and work sills of patients

Physical Therapy - Restores muscle strength and function through exercise.

Intellectual Disability (I.D.) –

Intellectual disability is a term used when there are limits to a person’s ability to learn at an expected level and function in daily life. Levels of intellectual disability vary greatly in children. Children with intellectual disability might have a hard time letting others know their wants and needs, and taking care of themselves.

Intellectual Functioning: Individuals find difficulty in learning, reasoning, decision making and problem solving.

Adaptive Behaviors: Problems in communicating effectively, interacting with others, and taking care of oneself.

Intellectual disability can be caused by a problem that starts any time before a child turns 18 years old – even before birth. It can be caused by injury, disease, or a problem in the brain. For many children, the cause of their intellectual disability is not known.

What are some of the signs of intellectual disability?

Usually, the more severe the degree of intellectual disability, the earlier the signs can be noticed. However, it might still be hard to tell how young children will be affected later in life.

There are many signs of intellectual disability. For example, children with intellectual disability may:

sit up, crawl, or walk later than other children
learn to talk later, or have trouble speaking
find it hard to remember things
have trouble understanding social rules
have trouble seeing the results of their actions
have trouble solving problems

Pharmacotherapy - The need of pharmacotherapy is to effectively manage signs and symptoms with antipsychotic medications at the lowest possible dose.
Psychotherapy - In psychotherapy, individuals learn about their state of condition and their moods, feelings, thoughts and behaviours.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - The goal of cognitive behaviour therapy is to teach patients that how they interpret and deal with things in their environment.
Behaviour Modification Techniques - In behavioural therapy, the goal is to reinforce desirable behaviours and eliminate unwanted or maladaptive ones. Behavioural therapy focuses on the idea that we learn from our environment.
Relapse Prevention Training - It is basically a training where the individual understand their risk factors and identify ways to prevent oneself from all such factors along with the understanding of their illness.

Learning Disability (L.D.)

A learning disability is a neurological condition which affects the brain's ability to send, receives, and process information. A child with a learning disability may have difficulties in reading, writing, speaking, listening, understanding mathematical concepts, and with general comprehension. Learning disabilities include a group of disorders such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia. Each type of disorder may coexist with another.

Learning disabilities are not caused due to physical or mental illness, economic condition, or cultural background; neither do they indicate that the child is weak or lazy.

Preschool: The child may have some of these difficulties in preschool.

Developing speaking skills at normal age (15-18 months) when speech typically develops in children

Pronouncing simple words
Recognizing letters and words
Learning numbers, rhymes or songs
Concentrating on tasks
Following rules and directions
Using fine/gross motor skills to do physical tasks.

Primary School: The child may have difficulty in:

Connecting letters and sounds
Differentiating between similar sounding words or rhyming words
Reading, spelling, or writing accurately
Distinguishing right from left, for example, confusing 25 with 52, “b” with “d,” “on” with “no,” “s” with “5”
Recognizing letters of the alphabet
Using correct mathematical symbols for doing maths problems
Remembering numbers or facts
Learning new skills; the child may be slower than other children of his or her age
Memorizing poems or answers
Understanding the concept of time
Hand-to-eye coordination, being unable to gauge the distance or speed, thus leading to accidents
Tasks involving fine motor skills: holding pencil, tying shoe lace, buttoning shirt and so on
Keeping track of own possessions like stationery items

Middle School: The child may have difficulty in:

Spelling similar words (sea/see, week/weak), usage of prefixes, suffixes
Reading aloud, writing assignments, solving word problems in maths (the child may avoid doing tasks involving these skills)
Handwriting (child may grip the pencil tightly)
Memorizing or recalling facts
Understanding body language and facial expressions
Showing appropriate emotional reactions in a learning environment (the child may behave in an aggressive or rebellious way, and react with an excess of emotion)

High School: The child may have difficulty in:

Spelling words accurately (the child may write the same word with different spellings in a single writing assignment)
Reading and writing tasks
Summarizing, paraphrasing, answering application problems or questions in tests
Poor memory
Adjusting to new surroundings
Understanding abstract concepts
Focusing consistently: the child may lack concentration on some tasks, while focusing excessively on others

Note: While children with learning disabilities have difficulties in some areas of learning, they also have great aptitude, skill and talent in other areas of their interest. Most often, we focus on the disorder and neglect the child's talents or skills. It is important that parents and teachers recognize this hidden potential and encourage the child to pursue them.

Cerebral Palsy (C.P - )

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture. CP is the most common motor disability in childhood. Cerebral means having to do with the brain. Palsy means weakness or problems with using the muscles. CP is caused by abnormal brain development or damage to the developing brain that affects a person’s ability to control his or her muscles.

The symptoms of CP vary from person to person. A person with severe CP might need to use special equipment to be able to walk, or might not be able to walk at all and might need lifelong care. A person with mild CP, on the other hand, might walk a little awkwardly, but might not need any special help. CP does not get worse over time, though the exact symptoms can change over a person’s lifetime.

All people with CP have problems with movement and posture. Many also have related conditions such as intellectual disability; seizures; problems with vision, hearing, or speech; changes in the spine (such as scoliosis); or joint problems (such as contractures).

Types of Cerebral Palsy

Doctors classify CP according to the main type of movement disorder involved. Depending on which areas of the brain are affected, one or more of the following movement disorders can occur:

Stiff muscles (spasticity)
Uncontrollable movements (dyskinesia)
Poor balance and coordination (ataxia)

Early Signs

The signs of CP vary greatly because there are many different types and levels of disability. The main sign that a child might have CP is a delay reaching motor or movement milestones (such as rolling over, sitting, standing, or walking). Following are some other signs of possible CP. It is important to note that some children without CP also might have some of these signs.

In a Baby Younger Than 6 Months of Age

His head lags when you pick him up while he’s lying on his back
He feels stiff
He feels floppy
When held cradled in your arms, he seems to overextend his back and neck, constantly When you pick him up, his legs get stiff and they cross or scissor

In a Baby Older Than 6 Months of Age

He/She doesn’t roll over in either direction
He/She cannot bring her hands together
He/She has difficulty bringing his/her hands to her mouth
He/She reaches out with only one hand while keeping the other fisted

In a Baby Older Than 10 Months of Age

He/She crawls in a lopsided manner, pushing off with one hand and leg while dragging the opposite hand and leg
He/She scoots around on his buttocks or hops on his/her knees, but does not crawl on all fours

We are here for you!!

As - Robert M. Hensel says "There is no greater disability in society, than the inability to see a person as more." With this belief Beautiful Minds reaches out to as many children as possible.

For more Information on the therapies and treatments we provide. Clickbhere.