Helpline support for special needs families during COVID

At a glance

Nayi Disha Resource Centre (NDRC) is a charitable organization that provides information, support and hope to families affected by Autism, Down Syndrome and other developmental disabilities through its mobile-accessible, multi-lingual digital platform.

Visit us at: www.nayi-disha.org

HELPLINE – 844-844-8996

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/nayidisharesourcecentre

Services offered for families:

• Evidence based information on various disorders across life-stages (500+)
• Directory of verified services such as doctors, therapist, schools (1800+)
• Online peer-support groups
• Workshops, webinars and Support Group meets for families
• Helpline support over phone and chat for information and counselling

Nayi Disha Resource Centre is a young initiative in Hyderabad which has – in a very short time – established itself as a rich source of information and guidance for families of children with developmental disabilities. They are committed to making the latest research and evidence-based practice available to families as they try to do the best for their kids. They also provide a directory of available services in various cities, with the option for user reviews and ratings – a much needed feature in a landscape with almost zero oversight or standards.

With such a dearth of reliable information regarding practitioners, therapies and other services, families fall prey to all kinds of unscrupulous quacks who are happy to relieve them of their money and time. If it were just that, it would be bad enough, but many of the approaches actually do harm and all of them waste those vital + precious early years when real changes can occur. Nayi Disha provides information across life-stages recognizing that it is a long and arduous journey for families, and they need information at every stage. Importantly, the information available in local languages such as Hindi and Telugu in easy to access and easy to understand posters, booklet, audios and videos.

They have already won a number of prestigious awards, including the international Zero Project Award 2020. They have a thriving and largest growing community with a strong network of over 9000 parents and professionals.

Nayi Disha Resource Centre has been on the forefront of leveraging technology to provide support to families and hence as COVID struck they were able to recognize the challenges families faced with the lockdown and act quickly to support affected families through online webinars, support group meetings and information on COVID and home-based management of children with disabilities. Recognizing that families are exhausted with no respite in caregiving to their child, they also provided mental health support through self-care campaigns and counselling services. To train parents provide home-based intervention to their children, they have initiated parent training programs and webinars in Hindi. *Latha from Jamshedpur got associated with Nayi Disha community through one of the webinars. She says she is learning new things every day and is encouraging other families to join the support group and learn from each other’s experience. To extend their support across the digital divide, Nayi Disha Resource Centre recently launched a nationwide HELPLINE number 844-844-8996. *Seema from Hyderabad said that she benefitted from counselling on behavior management techniques for her 5-year-old child with Autism and is able to manage the child better at home. This has also helped bring down her own stress levels and she feels supported.

They are also upgrading the digital platform with a mobile-first solution which is expected to be launched by July of 2021. With these initiatives, they are working towards their goal is to support families in the interiors of the country in local languages where information and support is hard to reach.

*Names have been changed to respect privacy of the families.