HEALING MINDS TOGETHER-Part 2
“People start to heal, the moment they feel heard.” When it comes to the children with special needs, the two areas where these children can be picked up in their homes or schools. For example, the child who is sitting quietly in a classroom and doing what he is said to be done is considered a good and obedient child. But, in many cases, these children come out as having ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) which means the child is not engaging in child-like behavior and needs treatment. This treatment has to be done as soon as possible to avoid further damage to the child’s health. But, the thing is, not only in Pakistan but in the whole world, these children remain undiagnosed and unrecognized throughout their childhood, due to the lack of awareness to parents as well as teachers.
Mental disorders among children are described as serious changes in the way children typically learn, behave, or handle their emotions, causing distress and problems getting through the day. Among the more common mental disorders that can be diagnosed in childhood are attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, and behavior disorders.
ADHD, behavior problems, anxiety, and depression are the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders in children
● 9.4% of children aged 2–17 years (approximately 6.1 million) have received an ADHD diagnosis.
● 7.4% of children aged 3–17 years (approximately 4.5 million) have a diagnosed behavior problem
● 7.1% of children aged 3–17 years (approximately 4.4 million) have diagnosed anxiety.
● 3.2% of children aged 3–17 years (approximately 1.9 million) have been diagnosed with depression.
We, the members of circle 7 decided to come up with an idea of educating people regarding children with special needs. To execute this idea, we have made a Facebook page named “WE CARE” where we upload certain realistic interviews and facts that are helping people to recognize their children. We thought to target the major areas of lack of awareness that were schools and homes. We took interviews with different parents and came to know some surprising facts.
What progress have we made so far?
● As part of our megaproject plan, despite many challenges, we successfully managed to conduct a series of interviews which was made possible by the extended corporation and supported by “Dr. Hira Naz” at College of occupational therapy Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. The interviewees were parents who have faced the challenges of upbringing a child with mental instability.
● Secondly, on the research front, we have Indicated a research study on our target audience, the school teachers and for data collection, we are near to finalize a survey questionnaire which would enable us to get an insight into the awareness that our sample sets(teachers) already have.
Problem-solving skills at the test.
● Challenges due to Pandemic Crises
As the world battles it way back to normalization, we face mobility restriction. To achieve our set goals, we used virtual platforms for conducting interviews remotely without compromising on the quality of content and goals.
● Inciting the research for the survey.
Indicating research with no prior experience in such a medical field was one of the challenges. In this regard, we sought advice from the expert (Dr. Raman) and learned about the research surveying tool he has been using, and found the specific approach effective.
● Academic commitments.
As we enter the concluding stages of the megaprojects, we as a team faced a great challenge while coping with the academic commitments of the individual fellows. These challenges somewhat impacted our workflow mechanism too. Keeping in mind the deadlines and using our problem-solving aptitude we set up cloud documents so that each member can contribute to the project at his own pace and allow others too to get sync in and reflect upon the work by each individual.
Changing the plan but never the goal.
“Learn from the experts; you don’t have time long enough to figure it all out by yourself.” — Brian Tracy
After having a comprehensive discussion with Dr. Raman Kumar at Liaquat National Hospital who shared his experiences and described the actual problem. Following our meeting as a team, we modified our approach to the same goal of creating awareness. Being more practical in our approach we learned that several surveys and studies have already been conducted on the parents in this regard and simultaneously learned that the main issue resides in the lack of training of teachers. There is no training program for teachers and because of that many teachers are not aware of this condition and its symptoms. Making the best out of this opportunity we are ready to make an.
Being introduced to the KAP survey mechanism we are close to finalizing our first survey questionnaire to get a visual of the degree of awareness that teachers have so that we could plan the awareness activities accordingly. Afterward, we are planning to conduct a workshop based upon the statistics after our survey. Our target audience would be teachers of different schools and our sole purpose is to teach them how to recognize a child having behavioral and mental issues.
Ensuring Sustainability
● To continue our mission of creating awareness even beyond this scope we are have planned a couple of things;
● Collaboration with the social services organizations which are working on the same scope of mental health awareness as where is a great room of opportunity to educate common people regarding the issues which children face and are often overlooked.
● We are also looking forward to teaming up with such individuals out of this fellowship who are passionate and centered on the purpose of this project.
● During our recent interaction with a medical expert, we extended the request for guidance in regards to this project. After receiving such a great and encouraging response we will be dispatching a formal invitation for his mentorship after this fellowship so that we can further increase the effectiveness of this project while ensuring sustainability.
All about making an impact.
As we plan to make an impact on our target audiences, we are positioning effectively on our social media handle and the results are motivating as we continue to make progress.
Recently we posted a series of interviews of the parents which were conducted in the last two weeks under the name “Hearing what the parents have to say about”.
As the statistics demonstrate we have collectively reached out to more than 240 individuals through the content and still work on the strategies to even more increase the effectiveness and reach of our posts.
Since the last 3 weeks through effective and engaging posting on our social media pages, we have gained a significant increase in the page following.
To make the future of coming generations secure and better, we need to play our part as an individual to our society, our country, and the world. We hope that this initiative would be remembered. We hope that we remain determined throughout our journey, facing all kinds of odds and circumstances, making all impossibles possible, and playing our part in giving back something to good to our society.
In the end, we would like to narrate a famous quotation by Louisa May Alcott, “No problem is insurmountable. With a little courage, teamwork, and determination a person can overcome anything.”
Happy reading!
