A Story of Never Giving Up

Devesh’s story is a story of collective perseverance. Rather, a story of collaborative persistence. That delightful smile on his face today and that confidence in his stance is the result of continued, consistent efforts by his caregivers at Adarsh. A story of patience and penance.

Devesh came to Adarsh when he was just 8-9 years old. He used to be a very restless child who couldn’t sit down in one place even for a few minutes. He couldn’t go about doing anything in a tidy and orderly manner. It was not because he was not interested in doing things, but it was extremely difficult for him to complete any activity. Even having his food was an arduous task for him. He found chewing difficult, and he would take a long time finishing his food. Moreover, handling food was not easy, and he would spill it on the table and the floor. He stuttered when he talked. His walking speed was also not normal. But his caregivers never lost hope in him. They took him under their wings with compassion, and slowly and gradually, he improved. Today he attends a normal school.

Devesh underwent therapies in different areas of development and functioning, including speech therapy, behavioural therapy and occupational therapy along with special education and physiotherapy. The result is remarkable, if not spectacular. It was a two-and-a-half-year-long journey. A special mention needs to be made about Devesh’s regular attendance at the school. During this period of time, he attended school every single day. He got involved in every activity charted out for him with great interest. This was possible only because of the combined efforts and commitment of not only Devesh’s caregivers, but his parents too.

The team at Adarsh chose a combination of therapies to address the various challenges Devesh faced in the functioning of his faculties. His difficulty with coordination of hand movements was rectified by occupational therapy. Physiotherapy helped him in his general movements and in normalising his gait and balance. Behavioural therapy trained him in sustained attention with motor coordination. His speech intelligibility has also improved with speech therapy. Now he talks fluently and clearly, with appropriate pauses. Special education helped him in recognising objects and identifying colours. Suffice it to say, the comprehensive programme put together, optimised and executed by the range of panellists at Adarsh has brought about an immense change in Devesh’s quality of life.