Pallavi
Time has come to a standstill but even then, it is running at its own sweet pace. The pandemic might have put us in a situation where we think that everything around us has stopped but is it actually so!!! NO… Days, months and now years are passing by. Even in the pandemic our hair has outgrown their normal maintained lengths, our nails still need to be cut or trimmed, children are getting taller. We all have noticed all these physical changes but have we thought of the mental/brain growth that our child/children are going through.
As childhood includes the prime years of individual’s growth and development, what we should look into and assure is that we won’t let the children suffer or add on to hampering their growth because the pandemic has forced us to sit at home. Taking care of a child’s mental/brain health is really important and the importance increases when we have a kid with special need at home. The closure of schools and clinics put children with special needs at increased risk for negative outcomes. Who can be of help at this point? The answer is ‘YOU’; you can become your child’s therapist. Seek help from a professional, get on online sessions or whatever way you think benefits the child.
We understand your inhibitions about taking your own child’s sessions or online sessions. Prior research indicates that telehealth services may be an effective means of providing medical and psychiatric care to children with ASD (Bearss et al. 2017) Online parent-training programs may also be effective for therapies delivered in the home by a caregiver. A small study of parent-mediated therapies suggests that there are no differences in outcomes when parents are trained in-person versus via remote platforms (Hao et al. 2020) and that parent training delivered remotely can be effective at reducing problem behaviors in children with ASD (Lindgren et al. 2020). These are just some reference points but trust us all we can do is work as a team for the betterment of the child.
This journey of becoming your child’s therapist might not be that easy but when you see your child on the path of progress, it will all be worth it. Though every child is different but somethings to be kept in mind that are applicable majorly are don’t punish the kid for being disinterested, don’t yell at them if they are not listening, spanking/time-outs are not ideal ways of inculcating discipline. Some needs that can blanket needs of majority kids are some silence, personal space, dim lights, gentle pressure touch (like weighted blankets)
Your child will not get these days back so let us, the team of Brainpreneurs – Child Development Center or any other similar organisation help you take the lead and become your child’s personal therapist via guidance from our therapists or through our online sessions. The last year taught us a lot about online sessions so, on the basis of these observations we would want our (therapist & your) team to be as strong as possible. We are listing down some simple pointers which will help to increase the effectiveness of online sessions.
So here we go:
Not the kid but you need to be prepared – Take your therapists help in understanding the session plan beforehand.
Don’t confuse the child – (If possible) Stick to one room only (or one particular space) as the therapy room (space). Keep the room distraction free as much as possible, do not keep any material other than the material required for the session.
Don’t surprise the child – Try to bring the child in the therapy room (space) 10-15 minutes prior to the session. You can take the help of background music (rhymes) to make the child comfortable in the therapy room (space) but make sure they do not have the device and/or the video screen in their vision view. If necessary, play / dance in the room 10-15 minutes before the season starts to make the child comfortable.
An inducive atmosphere will add on to the session – Keep the therapy room (space) clean. Preferably it should be properly ventilated and appropriate light should be there.
There might be certain specific requirements – If a session or an activity is to be conducted outside the room, please keep that area ready prior the session (understanding the session plan beforehand.)
Your undivided attention is really important – Schedule the session at such a time which makes sure to have your undivided attention or some one is there to take care of the deviations. No phone calls should be attended during the session. Don’t let yourself indulge or engross in any other household activities like cooking, attending door bells, attending to other kid(s) etc.
Though, you and the therapist would be trying their level best but do understand that weather offline or online, therapy/remedial sessions are a long-time process and they would move at their own pace. Some days will be exciting and some days will be gloomy but what we need to understand that something is always better than nothing.
Let us not allow this pandemic to cause hindrance in the growth process of a child. All you have in your hands are your own efforts and we will add the efforts of our team to get on the path of growth. We were, are and will always be there for the child and for you.
We care We listen We empower
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