Prepare your autistic child to integrate to society with Daddys Lanka
Twelve years ago, Dr Sudath Damsinghe opened Daddys Lanka with one child. Over the past years, the institute has educated more than 5000 children, both autistic and those with other developmental disabilities as well as educational problems, since its inception.
With a constantly evolving therapy system that incorporate new knowledge in the field, Daddys Lanka has several aims to cater to children with educational problems and autistic children. Having gathered experience through his work at Daddys Lanka, Dr Damsinghe observed that it is better for a child with autism to begin intervention at a young age, so that his or her basic foundations in areas such as communication, behaviour, social interaction (making eye contact, sitting, interacting with others, sharing, turn taking, etc) can be established.
It is impossible and unnecessary for a child to reside full-time at Daddys Lanka. Therefore the team believes that a home-based and school-based programme is feasible. To achieve this goal parental training is conducted at Daddys Lanka. The Professionals Empowering Parents system teaches the theory to parents giving them practical situations, better educate them on autism and how to intervene when their child needs it. Excluding the intervention therapy conducted at the institute, Dr Damsinghe believes that the parental training is one of the vital services that Daddys Lanka provides.
As a Centre, the child can spend several hours at the institute, however since, the majority of their time is spent outside its premises, Dr Damsinghe explained that it is necessary to give the child environmental exposure, social skills training, activities of daily living, etc.
As the child grows and approaches an age where parents are concerned with providing them with an education, school integration becomes the next vital stage to pass through. Dr Damsinghe encourages parents to opt for a normal school integration where the child can be given schoolbased support when necessary. There are schools equipped with resource rooms or are affiliated with those familiar with catering to the needs of the child.
Depending on the cognitive level of the child, they can benefit from following the normal stream of education. “It is a case of easier said than done,” said Dr Damsinghe, “You can’t blindly follow it. There are age related exams”. At Daddys Lanka the institute both prepares the child to face these exams and request for concessions from the board of examination such as a reader, scribe, prompter and/or extra time. DrDamsinghe states that these provisions are available in Sri Lanka for students who follow either the local syllabus or the London syllabus. These provisions are also available for children with educational problems.
“The child may not pass at the first try, but it is an amazing thing forthem to pass, for instance, Ordinary Levels,” said DrDamsinghe, who went on to say that first and foremost, the child’s basics must be firmly laid in order for him or her to triumph later in life. In the behavioural component, medicine may be required based on the child’s problem.
At Daddys Lanka, a holis- tic approach is practiced in order to prepare the child to be independent and maximize his social skills. “Early intervention, continuous intervention and time-based targets are extremely important,” said Dr Damsinghe. Through, Ms. Amanda Piyarathna, a psychologist holding a degree from Coventry University UK, Daddys Lanka implements time-based targets that can be implemented either through home or school.
He also emphasized on the importance of providing individualised approach. Each and every problem should be addressed individually. The individualized therapeutic approach at Daddys Lanka bridges the gaps in areas where the child needs attention.
Monitoring and evaluation is also carried out by Daddys Lanka regularly every three months or based on the request of the parents. The programme is revised annually.
Dr. Damsinghe is the Doctor In Charge of Medical Checkup Unit at Sri Jayawardenapura General Hospital.