SRM IST hosts National Conf. on Occupational Therapy
3-day event’s deliberations will pave way for positive outcomes
Need to increase facilities, provide door-step care
to help improve quality of life: Dr P.Sathyanarayanan
KATTANKULATHUR
Facilities to offer care for people with autism should be expanded and they should offer all services, treatment and diagnosis under a single roof, and the society should work to bring an improvement in the quality of people with autism, Dr. P.Sathyanarayanan, Pro Chancellor (Academics), SRM Institute of Science and Technology, said on Wednesday.
Committed to provide treatment to autism:
In his Presidential Address at the inauguration of National Conference on Autism, 2024, Dr. Sathyanarayanan said that SRM College of Occupational Therapy, since its inception in 1996, had provided treatment to more than 5,000 people through the occupational therapy programme. He said that people with autism had to travel to different places to have access to services and avail from treatment from doctors and therapists. With a view to providing all such services under a single roof, they had established the occupational therapy centre at SRM IST in Kattankulathur.
Stating that SRM IST was committed to providing excellent care and service to people with autism, they had also started a Sensory Garden and the facility was now a Centre of Excellence in Occupational Therapy. He said that such services where people could avail all treatment from doctors and therapists, and services should be established all over the city, so that door-step services are available to those in need.
Dr. Sathyanarayanan recalled that last year, they had hosted an international conference on autism and through such events, the message on means to improve the quality of life of people with autism would be taken to the society. He said autism was a huge field and it involved a large number of people – doctors, occupational and speech therapists, special educators in for diagnosis and treatment. While compassion and communication was at the core of medicine, it was more so in autism.
In his address, Dr Pankaj Bajpai, President of All India Occupational Therapists Association (AIOTA), said people with autism, and their parents possessed remarkable resilience. Lauding the organisers – SRM College of Occupational Therapy, for hosting the 3-day conference, he added that the theme: Translation of Research into Usable Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, was apt and relevant. He said that all stake holders in this field stood as a beacon of hope and their commitment and steadfast resolve was highly commendable.
Stating he was energised by the passion of the organisers, he appealed to delegates to approach each topic with enthusiasm. The SRM College of Occupational Therapy was truly a Centre of Excellence and the inter-disciplinary model reflected the collective journey of stakeholders. Dr . Bajpai said that the dedication of everyone in the conference would make a profound impact on the positive outcome of the three-day conference. He also released a souvenir of the conference and the first copy was received by Dr. Sathyanarayanan.
Dr. Nitin M. Nagarkar, Dean SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, welcomed the gathering. Prof. C. Muthamizhchelvan, Vice Chancellor, Dr. S. Ponnusamy, Registrar, Dr. T.Mythili, Additional Registrar, and Dr. R. Venkatraman, Medical Superintendent, were also present. Dr. U. Ganapathy Sankar, Dean, SRM College of Occupational Therapy proposed a vote of thanks.
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