10/07/2022
We are into the care of Autistic kids for almost 20 years now. (Yes, it was in 2002 that we had our first case!) In these 20 years, we have seen a minimum of 2000 cases. Many of them do not follow up for their own reasons. And the documents of those who did not follow up are not kept with us for long. Anyway, that is not the matter which I wanted to highlight. We have videos posted in different media about our protocol which are self-explanatory. Sunethri Protocol has many limitations: dietary restrictions, multiple phases, hospital stay, financial part etc. Despite these limitations, parents come and seek our service for their children. This may be because of the positive feedback from those parents who stick on to the protocol properly. We are grateful to them for the trust that they have in Sunethri. At the same time, we also witness many 'unhealthy' practices. Let us see a few of them below.
--Some of the parents come for an initial assessment, get it done, carry the prescribed medicines and return. They will not follow up but will continue the medicines indefinitely, sometimes for a long unintended time period like one or two years. Generally, the first prescription is intended only for a period of 3-4 months. Taking some medicines for a very long time without proper follow-up is useless. It is burdening financially. And above all, it may cause some unwanted responses as well. We strongly discourage such practices. A prescription shall be followed only for the prescribed period and in the specified dose, in its complete form.
--Sometimes, the parents give the medicines religiously but do not follow other aspects like the prescribed diet. They may, sometimes may not, follow up properly. If they come, they will disclose this shortcoming only when asked repeatedly. This is not a proper way of following a protocol. If we have to get the best outcome, there should be 100% compliance. Otherwise, nobody can help. After all, there is no compulsion on any parent from our side to follow Sunethri protocol for their child.
Some other parents want to rush through the phases and compel us to get their children admitted in the ashram without sufficient preparation. The child may not be on a proper diet. The initial medicines may be still there uncompleted. Still, they want to save time and admit the child for the next phase. There may be many excuses for this: getting leave from the office, mixing the vacations and treatment together, unnecessary anxiety in getting the treatment delayed, personal inconveniences, etc. etc. But we can’t help. We cannot admit any child in the facility without proper preparations. Earlier, in some cases, we have committed the mistake of bypassing the proper preparatory phases. And that has ended up in severe frustration for the parents and for us as well.
--The next challenge is a proper assessment. The assessment of the child is based on three major components: 1. the reporting of the parents and caretakers including the trainers/teachers, 2. a questionnaire that the parents fill at the time of visit, and 3, the direct observation of the medical officer who is doing the assessment. These three components are equally important. If there is some sort of an over or under-reporting in these three, the assessment goes wrong. If the same parent is not making the reporting again and again on all visits, there is every chance of the report going biased. Similarly, the reporting of the parents and caretakers should be based on their long-term understanding of the child, not based on some incidents or developments that happened on the day just prior to the day of reporting.
All the above situations make us crippled as far as proper care of the child is concerned. The parents may look into these points seriously and act accordingly. We are there to serve you always. Thank you...
