6th Anniversary events

The first in the series of events in connection with the sixth anniversary of the department of the developmental paediatrics and child neurology was a parent's meeting. It concluded with singing the inspirational song, 'We shall overcome'!  We were grateful for the help of the medical students to take care of children.

I found my colleagues at their best, in planning, making presentations on 'planning for childhood transition' and illustrating them through skits and demonstrations.  

As I listened an watched all these, I remembered three significant aspects of my personal journey. 

This child development at MOSC medical college was the fifth initiative, for creating a specialty of service in child development. It began with two centres at Chennai, one each at Nagpur, Vellore, Pondicherry and Kolenchery. The initiative at Pondicherry did not sustain itself after three years. The centres in other places flourish in providing services for children with different innovations in a commendable way. 

The second inspiration which refreshed me was remembering about eighty or so colleagues with whom I have had the privilege of growing up while developing ideas, creative approaches and defining a wholistic approach to Child Development. One former colleague now in the United States of America, a psychologist  in human resource support role, sent a message yesterday recollecting the experiences of planning for the development of services at CMC Vellore.  

The third inspiring aspect is the story of hundreds of parents who have kept in touch through revisits and sharing their journey of insights during their accompanying journey with their children. It was often parents who expounded and expanded dimensions in child development that I had to explore to reach out to them in response to their needs!  That is how interests in shared parenting, sleep related matters, non formal early education, craniosynostosis, handedness, electrical rhythm dysfunction, behavioural transitions in childhood, co-morbidites that compound developmental needs, etc came up as issues to explore. I feel grateful to parents who challenged me in these issues and some other areas, because of which most of my forty years in child development journey were associating informations to make sense.

I feel most grateful to the current team of colleagues who make my association with developmental paediatrics and child neurology at MOSC Medical College stimulating! 

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)