A child learns through play, through interacting with other people and his environment. Many factors during a child’s development – before or after birth can affect normal trajectory of development (or the way a child develops).
A child learns through play, through interacting with other people and his environment. Many factors during a child’s development – before or after birth can affect normal trajectory of development (or the way a child develops). If their attempts to interact functionally within their environment is compromised — either by poor posture, poor motor coordination, poor language skills, sensory integration differences, decreased attention span, behavioural issues, etc. — then their ability to acquire skills and learn from their interactions and explorations may also be compromised.
Developmental therapy is a discipline that specifically looks at HOW a child is developing during the most significant period of development — birth through 5 years. Starting in the early years, the holistic approach to child development includes a balance between the home, the environment of the growing child.
Developmental therapists assess a child's global development and identify specific areas of needs and strengths. They will then develop play activities designed to help a child overcome their challenges and improve the quality of their interactions in order to help them gain confidence in their own ability to learn and to acquire typical skills.
At the development therapy unit, the therapist assess a child’s development from birth to 6 years in all areas of development using standardized tools. We design specific therapies for each child and give instructions for hometraining to parents and caretakers. In addition, we also provide training on pre academic skills for children between the age group of 3 to 6 years.
• STIMULATION PROGRAMME: Advanced perinatal and neonatal care have improved the chances of survival of new-borns who would otherwise have succumbed. Unfortunately, many of these Neonatal intensive care survivors are identified with Neurodevelopmental problems later on. Through early stimulation programme, we train parents/ caretakers home based stimulations for these babies to achieve their developmental milestones to reach each child’s individual potential.
• INTERVENTION FOR CHILDREN BELOW 3 YEARS: Any child below 3 years of age presenting with any kind of delays in their development, we start to intervene them early to achieve better outcome. We teach the care takers more on therapeutic activities to do at home on specific delayed domain. Delay may occur in different developmental domains like motor domain, speech domains, behavioural issues, personal social interactions etc.
• DEVELOPMENTAL FOLLOW UP: At NIPMR, we do regular follow up for at risk babies and also those babies who undergoing regular interventions at our centres, to monitor their development using different standardized developmental scales/ tools and give diagnosis. This will help the parents/caretakers & also therapists to know more about child’s strength & weakness which in turns help them to better focus on therapies.
• GROUP THERAPY: It helps to improve the child’s interaction in group or society. Different departments like developmental therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, behavioural therapy, physiotherapy, social workers, special educators etc. all work with small groups of children to achieve their social goals.
• PRE ACADEMICS: We also giving training on children between 3 to 6 years to improve their pre academic skills. This will help them attain school readiness and also to adapt better in educational skills.
Introducing Veena P. Chandran, a dedicated developmental therapist with a passion for making a difference in the lives of individuals, especially children. With a comprehensive educational background including a postgraduate diploma in Early Intervention from the prestigious National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD) in Chennai, and an MSc in Clinical Psychology from the Central University of Karnataka, Veena brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her practice.
Veena’s journey in the field has been enriched by her diverse work experiences. From her role as an Early Interventionist & Psychologist at Sukrutham Rehab Institute in Kottayam to her tenure as an Early Interventionist at CH Multi Rehab Institute in Kannur, she has honed her skills in understanding and addressing the unique needs of her clients. Her contributions extend to academia, where she served as an Assistant Professor at BYKAS College for Women in Malappuram, nurturing the next generation of mental health professionals. Additionally, her role as a Life Skill Trainer at Chinmaya Vidyalaya in Kottayam underscores her commitment to holistic development.
Now Veena is in the position of developmental therapist here in NIPMR. She excels in screening and planning early intervention techniques, implementing various therapy methods, and providing parent education and support.
A Developmental Therapist with 1 year experience in NIPMR.
She could do the lactation counselling for mothers, early stimulation for infants and toddlers and developmental therapy for children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Efficiently managing Autism group therapy and autism intervention.
Trained for the various developmental screening and diagnosis tools. Attended the workshop conducted by TEACHH.
Proficient in English, Hindi, Malayalam
Zealous and adept professional with extensive experience in Developmental therapy, specializing in Early Intervention and skilled in remediating developmental delays, multiple Disabilities, autism, cerebral palsy etc. Leveraging a strong background in Psychology and advanced Clinical Psychology Studies, possesses a robust foundation for addressing a broad spectrum of psychological needs. Expert in conducting workshops, training programs, for a diverse audience including Parents, Educators, Students, corporate employees, and Athletes.
Committed to helping individuals achieve their full potential through a blend of expertise and compassionate care.