My daughter has taught me all about cerebral palsy

“Eight years ago, I was set for a career in IT. Then I had my daughter Princess and she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and profound deafness. Most of my time was spent looking after her and finding out how to manage her condition.

“Then I had my second child four years later and I could not find a day care centre to leave Princess so that I could take her brother for his clinic days. The centres that were willing to take her charged me way more than the other parents.

"When I spoke to a neighbour who also has a child with CP, she told me that when she needed to leave, she would lock the child in the house. I formed a support group to bring together parents to look for answers to these challenges. A year later, I opened my day care centre.

“Now I have up to 10 children at the centre every day. Initially, I was offering just child care but slowly, I began giving occupational therapy using knowledge from a course I took following Princess’ diagnosis. Now it is part of the package.

“Soon after opening, I noticed that I never saw children with CP outside their homes. A few parents told me they were afraid people would speak ill of their children. So I began an awareness campaign on social media. It has now grown to include photo shoots in various parts of the country to create awareness.

“If I am not with the children at the centre, you will find me rallying for donations for diapers for a drive that I run monthly. I have up to 60 children with CP in need of diapers. So far, I am able to cater to up to 20 every month.

“The most common misconception I have come across is people assuming, when I share my journey, that I am looking for pity or financial aid. I wish that more people understood that a child with disability has needs beyond money. Sometimes, they just want to be understood.

“The bigger dream for me is to build a centre for children with CP where they can have an education, therapy and a clinic that are customised to their needs.

“When I am not working, I spend time with my four children, or with friends who do not have children with CP. Sometimes it’s good to have discussions on life away from the challenges of our CP journey.

“If I had power to change just one thing, it would be the mindset of parents of children with CP. I would get them to accept the special parts of their child. If so, then we would not have all these doctors from the East preying on parents and selling expensive experimental therapies.”