Commissioner Secretary, Social Welfare Department, Sheetal Nanda, today inaugurated “VYOM” (Vibrant Young Open Minds) a Child Developmental Centre at Lower Roopnagar here. The VYOM has been established by Social Welfare Department in collaboration with Brainpreneurs Foundation. Commissioner Secretary highlighted the challenges being faced by the parents in want of such child development centre. It has been a constant demand in UT for opening of such early intervention centre which caters to the need of intellectually challenged children with neurodiverse needs, sh asserted. This facility of VYOM shall not only provide holistic state of the art facilities for development needs of intellectual disabled children but also aims at identification of children who need early intervention.
Brainpreneurs' representatives, Dr. Sushil Razdan (Neurologist) and Sunaina Tickoo (CEO Brainpreneurs) highlighted VYOM's role in providing comprehensive services like physiotherapy, special education, speech therapy, occupational therapy, psychological assessments, parent and child counseling, life coaching, career counseling, and more, all under one roof. It is pertinent to mention here that the department is providing child development centre facility free of cost to the PHH and AAY Ration card holders and very nominal charges shall be charged from other beneficiaries which shall ensure that the benefits of the centre is being taken by all in need of such care . VYOM is designed to cater to children with various neurodiverse backgrounds, including intellectual disabilities, slow learning, autism, ADHD, and cerebral palsy. Social Welfare Department's efforts and Brainpreneurs' expertise, VYOM's impact extend beyond its center.
It has already conducted teacher training programs in various government schools, enhancing awareness and identification of special needs with the help of child and adolescent psychologists. VYOM will commence operations on October 3, 2023. Various representative of NGOs working for the interest of PWDs, Anganwadi workers, Superintendents of child care institutions and other officers and officials of the department participated in the program. Vivek Sharma, Director General Social Welfare, Jammu, Harvinder Kour, Mission Director, Mission Vatsalya and other senior officers were also present on the occasion.