Early identification of potentially handicapping conditions is the key to early intervention and successful rehabilitation. For this reason, it is routine in many countries for all babies to be examined by trained professionals on several occasions during the first year of life and for them to undergo a number of screening tests.

In India, infants are not routinely screened, nor is there follow-up of most “high risk” babies. Consequently, many children with potentially treatable disorders are not identified and many more with disabilities do not benefit from therapy which could significantly reduce their handicaps.

There is an urgent need throughout the country for centers such as KV EIC, staffed by experienced professionals where young children can be assessed and receive intensive therapy. Such centres also provide children with an opportunity to play with others and enhance the development of social and communication skills. In addition, families benefit from ongoing counseling and support, as well as the chance to meet other parents/siblings in similar situations.

During the first year that Karuna Vihar school was open, the average age of children coming for assessment was 6 years, with less than 20% under 5 (age range 2½ - 12 years). All of these children had disabilities which could have been diagnosed during the first year of life and would have benefited considerably from early intervention: many children with severe physical disabilities had already developed contractures, a number had been mistakenly viewed as mentally retarded and two with hypothyroidism had already suffered irreversible brain damage.

With Karuna Vihar’s work receiving widespread recognition, and with the support of the awareness campaign, many younger children started coming to us for assessment and advice. In 2001, the year before the Early Intervention Centre opened, the average age of children we assessed at the school was five years, with over 25% of these being under 1 year of age, and 50% under 5 years of age (range 3 weeks to 16 years).  This provided the impetus for the establishment of the KV EIC. Today, we assess an average of 7 children each week, all under the age of five.