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Designed, Created and Hosted by

Dr.A.Mukherjee

Consultant in Internal Medicine and Founder Trustee

Foundation for Spastic and Mentally Handicapped Persons (FSMHP)

61 Deshbandhu Apartments, Kalkaji, New Delhi 110019, INDIA; E-mail : docarun@iname.com

The UDAAN center of FSMHP is at A-59 Kailash Colony, N.Delhi.

Timings : 9 AM to 2 PM, Monday to Friday except gazetted holidays

The FSMHP was born out a need of a school teacher, both of whose daughter's were severe cases of CP. She requested an unknown housewife, a doctor's wife, to help look after her daughters during the day, while she went to teach to save for their future caretaker needs. That lady (Mrs.Shubhra Mukherjee) became motivated and interested, and took training in management of CP, MR and later, Autistic children. That sowed the seeds of a highly successful organisation that soon became one of the most sought-after centers for children with advanced disability cases in South Delhi.

Cerebral Palsy (CP) and Mental Retardation (MR) are the result of irreversible damage to one or more concerned areas of brain, during intrauterine life, labor or immediate post-delivery period. MR can also result from severe brain injury or infection later on. Even autism is now linked to discrete areas of brain damage, rather than to psycho-social causes.

Many superstitions and misconceptions are associated with birth defects, especially of the brain. They are not a curse or punishment for sins, nor are they contagious disorders, from which other siblings are to be protected. These are merely chance damages and disorders have an anatomical explanations.

The long term management of brain related disorders is not always, or rather rarely, is by drugs. This is a family problem, to be solved by the whole family, with the friends, neighbours, and relations all joining in to make a whole big FAMILY. It needs intense physiotherapy, behavioral training, psychological guidance especially to those who are involved with the disabled person, and a helping hand only when asked for.

A disabled person often ends up as Nobody's Baby, once the parents, and sometimes the brother/sister passes away. It is not necessary that the disabled person will have a short life span. Hence, after their loving one is no more, who will take care of them if they are dependant on a caregiver? A home, especially dedicated for their specific disability, run by the parent's organization, may be the answer. Some such parents in New Delhi (HCPA) are trying for it.

Only a disabled person, or someone interested in caring for them, properly understands a disabled person. They vibe with each other. This, therefore is a discussion forum for their exclusive use, along with the way to a private and confidential CYBER-CP Email Club especially for them and their healthworkers.

Botulinum toxin injections (a potent toxin for nerves that command muscles) have raised a lot of hope as well as frustation in CP. Properly used, they provide safe and rapid, dramatic relief in spastic muscles, However, such relief does not last for more than 2 to 4 months, because of the development of anti-toxin antibodies as well as regeneration of the nerves.