My wonder child

Finally, a post about a child I want you all to know.

Dear Shakthi Shanuka is a special child, as special can be. Diagnosed with Down's since her birthday 10 years ago, she could hardly walk until 3 years of age and started talking only 5 years ago. Her acute heart conditions and lack of immunity to common diseases like cold and fever gave her a very frail physique.

From the beginning, her mother and father (both of them unschooled) decided to do what is needed for this child to excel. I have been with these people, stayed with them and know what effort they have put into rearing her. She can skate now, talks a lot (in sweet mayalai), has taken dance classes and is fairly good in her studies. Regular speech therapy and pshysiotherapy with enormous well wishes and faith from her parents and grandparents have made her this way.

She is this kid who expresses her love so beautifully. Every time I see her she exclaims joyfully "anu kaa" and hugs tightly. She has this way of keenly observing people and their behavior. I would say this child is even more alert and sensitive than normal children. If her mother is meditating, she doesn't disturb her at all, something any normal child does all the time. Her responses are just amazing. As she cannot express freely in the spoken language, her behavior and actions do that.

You have to be with her to see how special she is. To me and to all who interact with her. I've known her from when I could pick her up easily, now she is so big and so much stronger.

Even the features on her face have changed drastically such that if her mother doesn't carry the certificate in trains for concession, the TT wouldn't be sure if she is a special child.