AGRICULTURE AS THERAPY: THE CASE OF 8-YEAR-OLD AMIT
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| Amit, Swami Vivekananda Mission Central School, Koliyakkod, Thiruvananthapuram |
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When Amit was born with brain damage due to delay in delivery, the doctors prophesied: chances of getting the baby alive are less. And even if the child lives, it may not get up or walk.
Yet
the 8-year-old boy now walks, goes to school and is among the top 10
students of his class.
Till
the age of 3, many types of treatment – especially the much painful
physiotherapy - were done to the boy. At that time Amit could neither get up nor sit.
However, the parents, Dr.Vijayendra Bhas of Institute of Dravidian
Studies and Swarnavi, an Agriculture Officer, did not give up their
efforts to cure the boy.
The
parents took the child to their vegetable garden in the yard and terrace.
Slowly the child started observing his parents and tried to get up
by holding on to the jute bags used as pots.
Based
on advice received from experts in agriculture and child care they let
Amit do a few exercises like walking with support of improvised sack pots,
using a stick to loosen the soil in the pot, watering plants, spitting at
the base of plants using water held in the mouth, plucking fruits etc.
Similarly he was given linguistic training in the milieu of
agriculture.
Thus
when agriculture therapy combined with other modes of treatments, Amit
achieved an IQ equivalent to a 6-year-old’s even at the age of 5.
Now as a 3rd standard student of Swami Vivekananda
Mission Central School, Koliyakkod, Amit is the 6th rank
holder in his class.
He
purchased his bicycle using the income generated from agriculture.
Amit in the garden
Courtesy:
Pushpa.M
(text), Rajan M.Thomas (photo)
Contributed by: Administrator
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