Think about a world the place each youngster, no matter their talents, has the chance to play, study, and develop. Sadly, for hundreds of thousands of kids with mental disabilities, this isn’t the fact. Usually confronted with societal obstacles and restricted alternatives, they battle to achieve their full potential.
Nevertheless, a spark of hope has ignited within the type of two younger visionaries, Siddhant and Suhani. At simply 16 years previous, these cousins from reverse sides of the globe have united to create ‘INTECH – Know-how for Inclusion’, a groundbreaking initiative that’s remodeling the lives of youngsters with mental disabilities.
Rising up in Mumbai, Siddhant was immersed on this planet of particular schooling, due to his mom’s devoted work with kids with mental disabilities. Witnessing their every day challenges firsthand, he was deeply moved to discover a solution to alleviate their struggles and empower them to achieve 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 had been usually excluded from sports activities resulting from mobility limitations and social obstacles. Impressed by his mom’s work and pushed by his personal ardour for sports activities, Siddhant sought a solution to confront the problem.
Throughout the globe, Suhani, equally pushed by a want 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 commonly lacking,” she says, including, “Witnessing this disparity has fuelled my ardour for change. We recognise the inequality, and we’re dedicated to addressing it, consistent with the Sustainable Improvement Objective 10: Diminished Inequalities.”
Collectively, they realised they may mix the ability 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 completely different approaches, they stumbled upon an concept that might change all the things, the motion-sensing know-how.
The breakthrough got here when Siddhant recalled his private expertise with a Nintendo Wii — a well-liked gaming console recognized 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 subject. This interactive gaming expertise, the place on-screen characters mirror the participant’s motions, appeared like a super solution to have interaction kids who confronted bodily incapacity.
“I had a Nintendo Wii at dwelling and thought it could possibly 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 subject 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 have interaction in bodily exercise. “The video games made it enjoyable for him to take part whereas additionally offering the advantages of train,” she explains.
Mentioning that the know-how supplies a singular alternative for youngsters with mental disabilities to just about swing a tennis racket or bowl a strike, all from the consolation of their very own house, Siddhant explains that it takes away any exterior challenges for such kids. “By utilizing the Wii, kids who battle 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 guaranteeing full participation, significantly for youngsters with extreme mobility restrictions brought on by circumstances like cerebral palsy. “For one youngster, it was troublesome to even arise, not to mention play a sport like tennis,” Siddhant says. To beat this, Siddhant needed to tailor the classes, usually investing further time to assist the kids acquire the boldness mandatory to interact within the actions.
One other problem was retaining the kids engaged for prolonged intervals; many kids with mental disabilities battle with focus and a focus, making it troublesome for them to remain serious about an exercise for a protracted interval. “Not all children can preserve focus for a very long time, however we tried to make the video games fulfilling for them, so they may keep engaged,” Siddhant shares.
Over time, via constant apply and by making the expertise interactive, he started to see outstanding enhancements within the kids’s capacity to remain centered. “The important thing was to make sure the expertise was enjoyable and interesting, quite than only a routine job,” he says.
One of many greatest hurdles, nevertheless, was educating the kids the foundations of the video games. At first, the idea of scoring or monitoring factors was overseas to many. “Once I defined to a baby that his rating was including as much as one thing greater, he started to understand the idea and really feel a way of accomplishment,” Siddhant says. With persistence, encouragement, and constructive reinforcement, the kids steadily started to understand the foundations. As they progressed, they took delight 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 embody him. However with the Nintendo Wii, he can play every time he needs. It’s made an enormous distinction in his life,” says Jhanvi Kuldeep, one among 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 carried out the Nintendo Wii method, therapists tracked the kids’s progress utilizing 4 key parameters — motor abilities, communication, emotional improvement, and cognitive abilities. These had been measured each earlier than and after the gaming classes, with the outcomes exhibiting clear progress.
For example, one youngster, who had struggled with arithmetic, started to indicate outstanding 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 at 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 Faculty and AK Munshi Faculty, each in Mumbai. “By 2025, we intention to be in 50 colleges. With 475 incapacity colleges in Maharashtra, our objective is to achieve as many as potential by the tip of 2026. Our challenge can final so long as we are able to make it, and our mission is to maintain increasing and make the most important affect we are able to,” explains Suhani.
Working from completely different timezones
Although they stay in numerous international locations, Suhani and Siddhant work seamlessly collectively. Suhani handles the information assortment, fundraising, and occasion organisation, whereas Siddhant focuses on working immediately with the kids in India. Suhani admits that managing an initiative from completely different time zones was a problem, however they made it work.
“Though we’re continents aside and it could seem to be there’s a disconnect, Siddhant sends me movies and footage, and I hear immediately from the scholars. That helps me really feel related and like I’m actually a part of the expertise,” Suhani says.
Suhani’s community within the US performed an important position in elevating funds for the initiative. “We raised $2,000 via neighborhood outreach, social media, and occasions,” she shares. Individuals had been so moved by the challenge’s mission that many even donated their used Wii consoles. This allowed INTECH to develop, buying extra units and reaching further colleges.
By way of persistence and analysis, the 2 16-year-olds have been in a position to break down obstacles and create alternatives for youngsters with mental disabilities. As they proceed to develop their attain, Siddhant and Suhani stay dedicated to their concept of creating the world a extra inclusive place.
“Youngsters with mental disabilities could face sure limitations, however additionally they should be included and stay a traditional life. We need to assist them obtain that,” Siddhant asserts.
Edited by Arunava Banerjee; All photographs courtesy Deepti Malik Gubbi
