UT hosts International conference on yoga for children with intellectual disabilities

The programme began with a welcome address by Ajeet Sidana, who also provided an overview of GRIID and its contributions in the field of intellectual disabilities. This was followed by the felicitation of the chief guest, Ravneet Kaur.

Jaideep also addressed the conference and talked about the importance of yoga in daily life, and in promoting physical, mental and emotional well-being, particularly for persons with disabilities.

He also appreciated the joint efforts of GRIID and the Haryana Yog Aayog in organising the event. He also said efforts would be made to formulate guidelines at the end of the conference to further strengthen initiatives for the empowerment of children with intellectual disabilities.

Karuppasamy outlined the structure and objectives of the two-day conference, and provided details of the RCI Continuing Rehabilitation Education programme. Anil Kumar presented an overview of the scientific sessions, including scheduled paper presentations.

Addressing the gathering, Ravneet shared her experience of working with the founder of GRIID, B S Chavan, and acknowledged his role in establishing the institute. She said she felt privileged to carry forward his vision and highlighted the satisfaction derived from working with children with special needs. She also appreciated the efforts of special educators and professionals at GRIID.

The event also featured a yogasana demonstration and a cultural dance performance by students.

Technical sessions included a presentation by Mukta Kumar, CMO, Panchkula, on “Stimulate Early, Shape the Brain”.

Mukta emphasised the importance of early identification of developmental and intellectual disabilities, particularly within the first three years. She said timely intervention can significantly improve outcomes and integration into mainstream education and society.

Other speakers included Ravinder Kaur, Professor, Dhanwantri Hospital (Chandigarh), who spoke on adaptive yoga practices for children with special needs; Jyoti Bholeshwar Mishra, Associate Professor, GMCH (Chandigarh), who discussed yoga for emotional and behavioural management; and C V Jayanthi, who presented on yogasana in Special Olympics.