Think about a world the place each youngster, no matter their talents, has the chance to play, be taught, and develop. Sadly, for hundreds of thousands of kids with mental disabilities, this isn’t the truth. Usually confronted with societal obstacles and restricted alternatives, they wrestle to succeed in their full potential.
Nevertheless, a spark of hope has ignited within the type of two younger visionaries, Siddhant and Suhani. At simply 16 years outdated, these cousins from reverse sides of the globe have united to create ‘INTECH – Know-how for Inclusion’, a groundbreaking initiative that’s reworking the lives of kids with mental disabilities.
Rising up in Mumbai, Siddhant was immersed on this planet of particular schooling, because of his mom’s devoted work with kids with mental disabilities. Witnessing their every day challenges firsthand, he was deeply moved to discover a approach to alleviate their struggles and empower them to succeed in their full potential.
“Once I noticed my mom working with kids with mental disabilities, it actually instilled an curiosity in me to contribute in any manner potential,” Siddhant tells The Higher India.
Siddhant’s understanding of the challenges confronted by kids with mental disabilities was private and deep-rooted. He was significantly conscious of how kids with disabilities have been usually excluded from sports activities because of mobility limitations and social obstacles. Impressed by his mom’s work and pushed by his personal ardour for sports activities, Siddhant sought a approach to confront the problem.
Throughout the globe, Suhani, equally pushed by a need to create change, had witnessed the transformative potential of know-how for these with disabilities. “Within the US, college students with mental disabilities are built-in into public colleges, however in India, this inclusion is usually lacking,” she says, including, “Witnessing this disparity has fuelled my ardour for change. We recognise the inequality, and we’re dedicated to addressing it, in keeping with the Sustainable Growth Objective 10: Lowered Inequalities.”
Collectively, they realised they might mix the facility of know-how and sports activities to supply kids important abilities like communication, motor talents, and confidence. What started as a spark of inspiration between two cousins quickly ignited into INTECH, an initiative to bridge gaps and provide kids with mental disabilities the prospect to thrive and play like by no means earlier than.
Why Nintendo Wii?
“We wished to make use of sports activities to assist kids with mental disabilities develop numerous abilities, however the problem was determining how,” Siddhant explains. After contemplating totally different approaches, they stumbled upon an concept that might change all the pieces, the motion-sensing know-how.
The breakthrough got here when Siddhant recalled his private expertise with a Nintendo Wii — a well-liked gaming console identified for its motion-sensing capabilities. The Wii makes use of a distant that tracks bodily actions, permitting gamers to interact in sports-like actions like tennis, bowling, and golf with out truly stepping onto a area. This interactive gaming expertise, the place on-screen characters mirror the participant’s motions, appeared like a really perfect approach to interact kids who confronted bodily incapacity.
“I had a Nintendo Wii at residence and thought it may very well be helpful for these kids. However I wished to validate this concept,” Siddhant recollects. To make sure its medical worth, they consulted with therapists and medical doctors, who confirmed that motion-sensing know-how is already getting used within the medical area for physiotherapy.
“The Nintendo Wii video games assist enhance focus, consideration, visuomotor notion, power, and endurance,” Dr Melitta Edward Menezes, a paediatric bodily therapist, working with kids with developmental disabilities for 12 years, says, recalling how a boy named Sachin, who wore a leg brace, confirmed elevated motivation to face and interact in bodily exercise. “The video games made it enjoyable for him to take part whereas additionally offering the advantages of train,” she explains.
Declaring that the know-how offers a singular alternative for kids with mental disabilities to just about swing a tennis racket or bowl a strike, all from the consolation of their very own area, Siddhant explains that it takes away any exterior challenges for such kids. “Through the use of the Wii, kids who wrestle to interact in bodily sports activities can nonetheless expertise them just about.”
Navigating early roadblocks
Implementing this concept got here with its personal set of challenges. One of many first obstacles was making certain full participation, significantly for kids with extreme mobility restrictions brought on by situations like cerebral palsy. “For one youngster, it was tough to even arise, not to mention play a sport like tennis,” Siddhant says. To beat this, Siddhant needed to tailor the periods, usually investing additional time to assist the youngsters achieve the arrogance needed to interact within the actions.
One other problem was conserving the youngsters engaged for prolonged intervals; many kids with mental disabilities wrestle with focus and a spotlight, making it tough for them to remain fascinated with an exercise for a protracted interval. “Not all youngsters can preserve focus for a very long time, however we tried to make the video games gratifying for them, so they might keep engaged,” Siddhant shares.
Over time, via constant follow and by making the expertise interactive, he started to see exceptional enhancements within the kids’s skill to remain targeted. “The important thing was to make sure the expertise was enjoyable and interesting, fairly than only a routine process,” he says.
One of many largest hurdles, nonetheless, was educating the youngsters the foundations of the video games. At first, the idea of scoring or monitoring factors was international to many. “Once I defined to a baby that his rating was including as much as one thing greater, he started to know the idea and really feel a way of accomplishment,” Siddhant says. With persistence, encouragement, and constructive reinforcement, the youngsters steadily started to know the foundations. As they progressed, they took pleasure of their newfound understanding, and with every small victory, their confidence grew.
“My brother, Shaurya, was born with Down syndrome. He doesn’t prefer to exit and play as a result of kids his age don’t embrace him. However with the Nintendo Wii, he can play each time he needs. It’s made an enormous distinction in his life,” says Jhanvi Kuldeep, one in all many people positively impacted by INTECH. “Now, once I take him to locations just like the mall or timezone to play video games, he not wants my assist,” she provides.
Monitoring progress, increasing attain
On the Jai Vakeel Basis, the place Siddhant and Suhani first applied the Nintendo Wii approach, therapists tracked the youngsters’s progress utilizing 4 key parameters — motor abilities, communication, emotional growth, and cognitive abilities. These have been measured each earlier than and after the gaming periods, with the outcomes exhibiting clear progress.
As an example, one youngster, who had struggled with arithmetic, started to indicate exceptional enchancment throughout a bowling session. “I requested him to tally up the scores after every spherical, and he confirmed curiosity in doing the psychological maths. His therapist later instructed me that in school, he couldn’t do easy addition. However with the sport, he did it with none bother,” Siddhant says.
The second was a breakthrough, not solely by way of educational abilities but additionally in how the sport was serving to to reinforce focus and cognitive talents.
Since then, INTECH has expanded to 2 different colleges, Anza Particular College and AK Munshi College, each in Mumbai. “By 2025, we purpose to be in 50 colleges. With 475 incapacity colleges in Maharashtra, our objective is to succeed in as many as potential by the tip of 2026. Our challenge can final so long as we will make it, and our mission is to maintain increasing and make the most important impression we will,” explains Suhani.
Working from totally different timezones
Although they dwell in several international locations, Suhani and Siddhant work seamlessly collectively. Suhani handles the info assortment, fundraising, and occasion organisation, whereas Siddhant focuses on working immediately with the youngsters in India. Suhani admits that managing an initiative from totally different time zones was a problem, however they made it work.
“Though we’re continents aside and it might appear to be there’s a disconnect, Siddhant sends me movies and photos, and I hear immediately from the scholars. That helps me really feel linked and like I’m actually a part of the expertise,” Suhani says.
Suhani’s community within the US performed an important function in elevating funds for the initiative. “We raised $2,000 via group outreach, social media, and occasions,” she shares. Individuals have been so moved by the challenge’s mission that many even donated their used Wii consoles. This allowed INTECH to broaden, buying extra units and reaching extra colleges.
By persistence and analysis, the 2 16-year-olds have been capable of break down obstacles and create alternatives for kids with mental disabilities. As they proceed to broaden their attain, Siddhant and Suhani stay dedicated to their concept of constructing the world a extra inclusive place.
“Youngsters with mental disabilities could face sure limitations, however in addition they should be included and dwell a standard life. We wish to assist them obtain that,” Siddhant asserts.
Edited by Arunava Banerjee; All images courtesy Deepti Malik Gubbi
