Sri Lanka Association for Child Development

26/12/2024

The "Dvani" AAC lab at Ayati National Centre, together with the Sri Lanka Association for Child Development (SLACD), is organizing an AAC workshop on 3rd January 2025 from 8.00 AM to 3.30 PM.

Dr. Nimisha Muttiah and the "Dvani" AAC Lab team will be conducting the workshop.

The workshop aims to provide hands-on AAC assessment and intervention training.

SLTs who are willing to participate in the workshop, kindly please fill the Google form attached below on or before 18th December.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfwc7EZ1HOpICqmt1kNiMXx4Zz9zcNNkEw3hSEONVpwh_56jA/viewform?usp=sf_link

27/07/2024

28/03/2024

World Down Syndrome day celebration
Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children

20/03/2024

When you judge someone based on their diagnosis, you will miss out on their abilities, beauty, and uniqueness.

# Let's end the stereotype #

05/02/2024

Dear Members, It is with great pleasure that we present to you "PRAGATHI" the SLACD Newsletter. In this issue, we bring you exciting updates and important announcements.
If you have any feedback, or suggestions, or would like to contribute to future editions, please feel free to reach out to us at any time.

01/12/2023

This year IAACD theme on World Disability Day is: What do adults with disabilities tell us about their childhood? SLACD is excited to invite you all to join the IAACD global discussion on the 1st of December. SLACD joins at 2.00pm to 3.00pm Sri Lankan time.(8.30-9.30am London time)
Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/96743030666?pwd=TWNjeEtDMnNZNmZDeENUbjFlNlJvdz09
Meeting ID: 967 4303 0666
Passcode: 009125

06/11/2023

06/11/2023

“Pragathi” Karapitiya
On the 25th of October, SLACD reached another milestone with the opening of “Pragathi”, the Southern Provincial Autism and Neurodevelopment Centre at the premises of Teaching Hospital, Karapitiya.
This state-of-the-art Intervention Centre, constructed and designed to international standards is a generous gift by the Citizens Development Business Finance PLC (CDB). Their unwavering commitment to making a meaningful difference in the lives of children and their families is acknowledged with gratitude. Sincere appreciation is also offered to the Karapitiya Team for their efficient contributions to making the Centre a truly magnificent place.
An increasingly high prevalence is reported all over the world. It requires specialized care, understanding, and support to deal with the numerous challenges that these children face. Children and families of Galle and Southern Province now have the opportunity to receive that care. This Center is not just a building, but a place where the compassion and dedication of the specialist health professionals and their expertise come together to provide nurturing, guidance, and hope.
With the current financial and manpower crisis in the country, there are bound to be challenges for the professionals. SLACD wishes them strength to overcome them and a sense of gratification from the opportunity for learning, innovation, and professional maturity the Centre will provide.
Bringing up a child with autism is no small task. Parents, especially the mother bear a significant burden. Our task would be to keep them well-informed and equipped with skills to be our partners in therapy. Research has shown that parents with experience can be successful mentors to other parents who are beginners with a newly diagnosed child. Perhaps this is an opportunity for Galle to take the first step in such a project for Sri Lanka.
Prof Hemamali Perera
President SLACD

11/10/2023

Take Care of the Mental Health of Parents

As professionals who work closely with children with special developmental needs and their families, we are constantly confronted with issues that are related to their mental health. For the child to fully benefit from the interventions we offer, it is critical that parents are coping with the demands of caring for their child. If the mental well-being of the parents is adversely affected it may not be always visible because the priority is usually the child. Evidence may show up later as non-compliance with treatment or dropping out altogether. They may have unrealistic expectations of therapy and believe the child could do better elsewhere. Causes of poor mental health in parents are multiple including stigma and other sociocultural factors and the nature of the child’s problem.
Mental health is not a separate entity but an integral part of our overall health. It affects how we think, feel, and act, shaping our interactions with those around us and the wider world. Similarly, negative mental health has an undesirable impact on thinking and behavior. When the parents are affected, there is a direct impact on children. There is clear evidence from research that depression in mothers causes significant anxiety and behavior problems in children. A 5-year-old with mild developmental delay, who was recently diagnosed with a seizure disorder is a case to reckon with. This child received relevant investigations and medication, which rapidly controlled the seizures. However, the child started to have recurrent disturbed behavior at night and expressed sad emotions. This caused much anxiety in parents who were already upset by the diagnosis and led them to doubt the treatment, visit different doctors, and perform cultural rituals. The child later confided in recurring scary dreams.
Parents are our allies and partners in helping the child. Our parents are a valuable asset that we sometimes may not give due credit. A few simple questions posed to them on how they are coping will elicit early signs of any existing or impending mental health problems. Let’s help parents to be resilient and confident in helping their special child.

Prof Hemamali Perera
President, SLACD

16/05/2023

Downs syndrome awareness day program was successfully conducted at the National Institute of Education, Maharagama with the participation of 60 special education teachers and parents.

14/05/2023

'නව යොවුන්වියේ පසුවන ඔටිසම් සහිත දරුවන්ගේ අනාගතය සැකසීම හා අභියෝග ජයගන්නේ කෙසේද?'

https://youtu.be/I7Xu6PI8UoQ

Watch More : https://bit.ly/3ejZQRB© 2023 by Lanka Rupavahini All rights reserved. No part of this video may be reproduced or transmitted in any form o...

14/05/2023

'නව යොවුන්වියේ පසුවන ඔටිසම් සහිත දරුවන්ගේ අනාගතය සැකසීම හා අභියෝග ජයගන්නේ කෙසේද?' යන මාතෘකාව ඔස්සේ ජාතික රූපවාහිනියේ විකාශය වූ ශනිදා ආයුබෝවන් වැඩසටහනේදී ගත් චායාරූප කිහිපයක්.

15/03/2023

SLACD 6th Biennial Conference - Day 2 -@ LRH