Starting from 1983

The story of ASHIRVAD has many pleasant chapters. 

One chapter has been our friendships with Gisela and Christiana, which was through the initiative of Pastor Eva Marie Koch of Berlin. On the advice of D. A.K.Tharien, of C.F.Hospital Oddanchtram, Pastor Koch visited ASHIRVAD Child Development and Research Centre in December, 1983 at Chennai on a rainy day, when the street in front of our office had knee deep water due to flooding.

During the brief visit of Pastor Koch, she showed much enthusiasm in what Anna and I we were attempting to do for children for special needs. It was the second month since we started this service.

A few weeks later, we had a letter from Christiane Osburg from Berlin introducing herself and Gisela  Jahner and telling us know about their interest in what we were doing which they heard from Pastor Koch. They wanted the students whom they were teaching to have an introduction to children in India to give them a global perspective on childhood experiences. They shared information with children in their class about our attempt to be involved with children with special needs. to which they showed considerable interest, out of which a small group of 'Friends of ASHIRVAD' was formed with teachers and parents of some children. Since then, Christiane and Gisela would share about ASHIRVAD to every batch of students which lead to years of meaningful association with students. Anna and I visited the school on a few occasions to share more about children and families that we were in touch with at ASHIRVAD.

Christiane moved on a few years back after a short illness which was a painful separation for Gisela. However Gisela continued this involvement even more enthusiastically by getting more parents and children involved in this friendship project. 

They used to meet periodically to make hand crafted materials for sale during Easter and Christmas. Some parents and friends used to be active through out the year to make different decoration materials, for sale at the festival seasons and at the school fest. 

Gisela too has retired now from the school. But she is even more active and enthusiastic to continue this friendship activity. She and her friends were happy to have raised a good sum of money every year through the sale of the hand crafted items and Anna and I have been touched by their generosity and thoughtfulness.

Gisela has often said, that through this friendship circle, they too have gained by having a social forum to meet and share their lives with each other. To her, this was a larger gain.

Thank you Gisela and friends at Berlin. You have blessed us with your love and support.

M.C.Mathew( text anD photo0    

Transitional stages

Let me leave these pictures of a seven months old infant to let you give you a sense of serial changes taking place in the face of a child, when a stranger came into the room.  

There are five stages in the way a baby would grow into social awareness from about three months to ten months of age.

The first stage is familiarity of the face of the constant care giver, which a baby may express from the third month with fixing on the face of the care giver and tracking him or her while moving about in the baby's vicinity. A baby kicks the legs and moves the hands  in the air, often accompanied by cooing sounds which increase in intensity till the care giver gives attention to the baby.  Some babies would even cry till  what the baby wants is met.

The second stage in this sequence is making a distinction between a familiar person and an unfamiliar person. A baby would normally tolerate an unfamiliar person and would be comfortable to be carried, but the baby indicates to be comfortable only with the familiar person after a while.

The third stage is baby's adaptation to the environment by being engaged in self play. A baby would play with his or her body parts, or toys, and observes mobiles or moving objects or pays attention to sounds of telephone, music, etc. During such a phase a  baby can be left unattended by an adult for short periods as the baby can engage oneself for a while.

The fourth stage is when a baby is fully aware of strangers and would indicate tolerance or anxiety. This picture sequence in this blog is that of such a stage. At seven months this baby looked most uncomfortable with the stranger and indicated a distressing look at his face, although it was short lived. Some would quickly adapt to be being comfortable and others would cry or cling on to the care giver. Fortunately fear or anxiety of due to frequent exposure to strangers do not emotionally disturb an infant adversely. 

The fifth stage  towards the tenth month is one of being comfortable in a social setting of children and some adults. As most babies would crawl and move about at this stage, they are already used to different situations and would therefore be less intimidated by sudden changes. They would even indicate pleasure of play in such instances. 

The key to help babies to go through all these stages smoothly and confidently is to create a stability of care givers. 

This is the challenges most working mothers face. When they return after maternity leave, who should care for the baby when an extended family is not available. Do we commit the baby to a domestic helper or to a creche!

An important consideration is that every baby would need constancy of care and care givers. When there are frequent changes in the first year, it can unsettle the baby for a while.

MC.C.mathew(text and photo)       

Learning by watching

This is the youngest to of the squirrels in our garden that I have been following up for the last two months. 

Today, I noticed at its best with all its gymnastic positions on a trunk of a coconut tree, fairly tall. It was making frequent up and down journeys on the trunk in a care free mood.  

I have spent over an hour today and sometimes more than than that during the last two months. Every sighting of this squirrel gave me an opportunity to know a little more about the way a squirrel grows up to be an adult squirrel. 

Often hours of observation is foundational to learn different aspects of child development.

Let me introduce this blog spot for those who are interested in different aspects of child development. 

Having spent thirty eight years out of forty years of my career in Paediatrics,  it is a good time to reflect on these years of learning, growing and understanding.

My moderate estimate is that I would have had the privilege of welcoming about 18 thousand families and children for consultation, during my association with Ashirvad Child Development and Research Centre, Chennai; Christian Medical college, Vellore;  Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences and now with M.O.S.C. Medical college, Kolenchey.

Each of these consultations would have been more than just diagnostic or neuro-developmental intervention planning. Most of them would have been meetings of significance. As I hear from families after twenty years or more years after  their first visit, which is more frequent of late, I realise how the conversations, interactions or problem solving journeys have born some fruits in their lives.  I have had siblings and parents acknowledging and thanking me for such occasions of turning points in their lives.

Let me dedicate this blog spot to families and children who nurtured me in my journey through the mosaic of child development.  

I offer this as an interactive forum for professionals, parents and children.

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)