Manasa Disability Rehabilitation & Special Education

INCEPTION : MANASA (Manasa Institute of Child Health & Disability Studies) provides special education and comprehensive health & rehabilitation services to ‘Children with disabilities living in vulnerable conditions’ and supports their families. Before 1990 there were very few health and rehabilitation facilities in Hyderabad for children with disabilities. Then, a motivated group of 13 female lecturers (three among them were the mothers of a special children) have started this initiative in 1991 in a small way 29 years ago ( 1991) as a non-profit, charitable organisation under Societies Act

SERVICES: Presently through Special School, Vocational Training Centre, Clinical & Community Based Rehabilitation Services the organisation is serving over 1200 special children a year. 90% of the parents of these children are dwelling slums, engaged in physical labour or street hacking or in construction work etc. Over 5 % of them have single parents (only mothers). 2-3% of them have siblings also suffer from similar disability and the parents’ lives look like disaster.

Existing Services at Manasa Institute:

1.Clinical Services: 100% FREE Child Health, and Rehabilitation services like Physiotherapy, Speech therapy, Behaviour therapy, Early Intervention therapy etc. at Manasa Institute for the children with disabilities. 30- 50 special children avail these services during all the working days between 9.30 am – 5.00 pm.

Now the delivery of services are continuing despite the Covid by taking all the precautions without any interruption.

2.Community Based Health and Rehabilitation Services: In 35 surrounding slum areas in Hyderabad and select Rural and Tribal areas of Bhadraadri and E. Godavari (Telangana and AP borders), our teams reach out the unreached to provide various need based services WITHOUT ANY FEE.- Now CBR has been made online due to Pandemic.

3.Special School for the Mentally Challenged : Fully equipped special education services are provided with FREE Bus facility for 80 Special Children WITHOUT ANY FEE.

Due to the Pandemic situation, special education has been made ONLINE by distributing the smart phones for the parents who didn't have them and through proper orientation on online special education. 

4. Vocational training unit for the youth with Intellectual disabilities: Training 30 youth with disabilities for each batch WITHOUT ANY FEE and connecting suitable job opportunities to the extent possible. Due to the Pandemic situation, vocational training also has been made ONLINE by distributing the smart phones for the parents who didn't have them and through proper orientation on online special education. 

5.Training and Research: Training and capacity development of grass root level health workers, ASHAs, ANMs, in-service DOCTORS and ICDS TEACHERS, RIGHTS ADVOCATES, SOCIAL ACTIVISTS, other HEALTH & REHAB PROFESSIONALS etc. Analysing MANASA has been taking up contextual research on child health & disability.

Due to Pandemic, we have been conducting online training programs through WEBINARS more frequently than earlier. 

MAJOR CHALLENGES INFLICTED BY COVID -19:

1. Lock down and sub-subsequent stoppage of all the activities at once. ( March 20th -2020 to April 15th 2020 )

2.  Declined funding support from CSR partners and from individual donors. 

3.  Demand for the restoration of services has been increased from the parents.

Parents started calling MANASA expressing their helplessness and anxiety; as the behavioural problems of the children with intellectually disability are increasing now; they were well managed through regular use of behavioural shaping, modelling and conditioning etc in special school, which now closed; and the abnormal limb movements, muscle tone and contractures of cerebral palsied children are also increasing without regular physiotherapy and class room physical activity and the progress in their cognitive, social communication and self-help-skills impeded by break of special education and other rehab therapy services.

The services were restored despite of lack of funding; and immediate support is required to continue these services without interruption.

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The Board of Manasa Institute:

President: Dr. L. Govinda Rao, Former Director, NIEPID & NIEPMD, Govt. of India

Secretary: Smt. P.Venkatalaxmi, Former Principal, R.B.V.R.R College, Hyderabad

Treasurer: Smt. P.Vanaja, Former Principal, R.B.V.R.R College, Hyderabad

E.C.Member: Sri.Jacob Verghese, CEO, B. F. , Former CEO, Godrej.

E.C.Member: Sri.Vinod Sarma, Business 

E.C.Member: Sushri..Neelima, Software Engineer

E.C.Member: Dr.Yogeswara Rao, Founder- CEO Cogno Labs, Scientific Advisor, Govt. of India

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Website: https://manasainstitute.org/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Manasa-Institute-of-Child-Health-Disability-Studies-2080315502252125/?view_public_for=2080315502252125

Linked In Page: https://www.linkedin.com/school/michads/?viewAsMember=true

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