“The National Workshop organized by MNC was the 14th in the series and MNC has all along been conducting its National Workshops on Early Intervention in Intellectual and Associated Disabilities with focus both on medical and early intervention trainings aspects. The theme of the Workshop this year was “Early Intervention in Intellectual and Associated Disabilities – Towards Making Inclusion a Reality”. In fulfillment of the educational need for all children, including those with disabilities, the Government of India has enacted the right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or the Right to Education ACT (RTE). Teachers in Mainstream schools / the parents of Special Needs children are often not adequately prepared and there is a need for a proper support system to be in place to help teachers, family, and parents to facilitate the child in the teaching-learning process. The Workshop seeks to address this. The two day workshop was planned meticulously both in terms of knowledge sharing and practical applications in class room situations. The sessions being conducted by the experts would benefit all in their day to day work situations. The workshop has been given accreditation status as CRE.”

Today, parents are aware, even in the rural areas, that their children should be provided with early intervention services, at the earliest, and as soon as the disability is noticed. The community now understands that the parents need easily affordable and accessible support systems in reaching out to the services for their children. And the clarion call for legislations as been from the voice of the people, which has been responded to with the passing of the rights of Persons with Disabilities 2016 as an Act parliament. We are still not yet an inclusive society in its totality. Early Childhood Education must therefore include the blue print for education of children with special needs. It must be based on the where and how it should be provided, center based, home and community based. It must include who should provide and when, what would be the resources needed, both specialized human resources and special training and educational materials. In making of the blue print into a happening, and in making the plans feasible and sustainable, the ideal situation would be through optimizing resources through the convergence of services, in a public private partnership working mode. It is towards such an inclusive happening that Madhuram Narayanan Center is moving, supported by its staff, parents and by the community.”