Aarti Nair

Latika Roy Foundation, India

Abstract Title:

All Aboard the Development Express! Supporting Families One Station at a Time

Biography:

Aarti Nair is a pediatric physiotherapist, she has completed her PhD at the age of 55 years from National Institute of Medical Science University, Jaipur, India. She is the Director of Services at Latika, a premier organization for inclusion and innovation in India. She has over 28 years of clinical experience in the development sector and has presented in many conferences globally. She has published more than 15 papers in reputed journals and organized and conducted many training programs at state and national level for health workers.

Research Interests:

Latika assesses children with autism and other developmental conditions and offers families short courses that build knowledge, confidence and skill to interact with their kids through purposeful, playful activities. Objective: Through a holistic approach integrating mental health support and a conducive environment parents learn how to help their child by creating routines, building communication and dealing with frustration through fun activities. Method: Parents practice therapy techniques and adaptive strategies thereby learning to use them at home and on their own. Working from each family’s strengths and adjusting for individual constraints makes our program simple to follow while creating an atmosphere of trust which allows parents to ask questions and openly express their concerns. One parent said the structured logical sequence reminded her of a train timetable: “Now we know where our kid is going, when she’s expected to arrive and the stations she’ll cross on the way.” We love this metaphor: we’re all familiar with trains! We know too that delays, re-routing and occasional lost baggage are just part of the journey. Results: 102 families completed this journey successfully in the last 9 months. Confident families are now prepared to support their child’s development. Life has improved significantly for everyone. Conclusion: Children are born to learn! When families adopt a structured program and follow it consistently while documenting every step, children with autism can achieve their developmental goals. Families become active partners and skilled advocates for their child’s growth. Keywords: development, family-centered, early-intervention, strength-based.