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Early intervention
Identification
Fun fact about Jofreshia, it is named after Joseph and Freshia, two bubbly siblings whose journeys are set apart by this first pillar, early intervention. Freshia is the older of the two and she has Multiple Disability with visual impairment (MVID). She is dependent on her parents in every sense of the word. On the other hand, we have Joseph, who was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2. Joseph's parents have gone all the motions that a parent could go through in raising a child with special needs. First there was denial - that thought that their child could overcome all these and function as they expect of a 'normal' child. However, at the end, it took courage to accept that their baby boy needed special care and intervention for him to become the independent individual he is today.
Categories of disabilities
- Physical
- Sensory.
- Behavioral.
- Development.
Autism spectrum disorder
- Challenge with verbal and non-verbal communication.
- Challenges with social interaction.
- Presence of restricted interest and repetitive behaviour.
Down syndrome
- Decreased or poor muscle tone at birth
- Short neck, with excess skin at the back of the neck.
- Flattened facial profile and nose.
- Small head, ears, and mouth.
- Upward slanting eyes, often with a skin fold that comes out from the upper eyelid and covers the inner corner of the eye.
- One crease in the palm
- Shorter than average height
- Increased gap between the great and first toes especially in infants
- Prone to obesity
Celebral palsy
- Lack of muscle coordination when performing voluntary movements (ataxia)
- Stiff or tight muscles and exaggerated reflexes (spasticity)
- Weakness in one or more arm or leg.
- Walking on the toes, a crouched gait, or a “scissored” gait.
- Exaggerated reflexes, floppy or rigid limbs and involuntary motions
- Speech disorder or stuttering
- Drooling or trouble with swallowing
Deafblindness- Some or total loss of both visual and auditory senses i.e a persion cannot see or hear at the same time.
- Having both hearing and vision loss from birth or early childhood
- Being blind from birth or early childhood and loss of hearing later on.
- Being deaf from birth or early childhood and loss of sight later on
- Acquiring of deafblindness mainly in adults through loss of sight or hearing in later life
Multiple Disability with visual impairment
A person has a combination of disabilities i.e an individual has more than one significant disability.
An individual has to have more than one significant disability i.e movement difficulty, sensory loss/a behaviour or emotional disorder
Assessment
At Jofreshia, we strongly believe disability is not inability. We have a team of professionals who are trained to assess children with special needs. The assessment is done in a friendly and playful manner to ensure that the child is comfortable.
