Maayra is a known case of Autism Spectrum Disorder with no family history of Autism or other neurodevelopmental or psychological disorders. Dr Priyanka Kumar, who is Maayra’s mother, is also a General Physician and her father Mr. Anand Kumar is a businessman who is into Camel Milk Distribution business. Since, Dr Priyanka is a medical practitioner, she understood her daughters case immediately and addressed the issue at early stage itself.
All of Maayra’s motor milestones were normal, however, her speech development was delayed. Maayra was born by cesarean section, a full-term delivery and no complications during birth. After administering the first dose of DPT vaccine, she suffered a febrile convulsion with fever shooting up to 103 degree F. These were followed by 6-7 such episodes. “We consulted several doctors, but they all suggested administration of common fever medications and wait till the age of 6 years. They said such issues are common in developing children. No further investigations were recommended and all that we were asked to do is wait.” says Dr. Priyanka, Maayra’s mother.
Fourth month later, Maayra’s parents started suspecting certain abnormalities in her behavior and development. Although she began going to a normal nursery school, at the age of 2 years, she showed no improvements in her Activities of Daily Living and command following. So, she was trained by an Occupational and Speech Therapist at home.
Their Occupational Therapist recommended that Maayra’s father consult with the doctors at NeuroGen. He gave a reference of a friend, whose child had been successfully treated for Autism with Cell Therapy followed by neurorehabilitation at NeuroGen BSI.
The doctors at NeuroGen, conducted various diagnostic tests, and confirmed that Maayra had Autism. After thorough explanation and all their concerns being answered, her parents decided to go ahead with Cell Therapy at NeuroGen followed by extensive Neurorehabilitation, even at home. This accelerated her responsiveness towards commands, gait and understanding. Considering the improvements they saw, Maayra’s parents decided to go ahead with the second round of Cell therapy for her.
When Maayra was first examined in February 2017 it was observed that her attention span was mood dependent. She needed repeated instructions to follow commands. She didn’t have age-appropriate cognition and problem solving skills. She was a slow learner and she did not engage in independent or functional play. She laughed without any reason and had limited social interaction. Her sitting tolerance was about 20 minutes and she used to get engaged in finger wriggling and repeatedly knocking on the door. She also had started biting others and hitting peers while playing. She had also being throwing things and her speech was limited to sounds and a few words. She could not understand non-verbal communication and couldn’t convey her needs. She was sensitive to sounds and her appetite was poor. She was not toilet trained and was dependent for her activities of daily living.
The aim of the rehabilitation program at NeuroGen after cell therapy was to develop cognition and understanding. Her mother was taught therapies to help reduce the hyperactivity and to increase the concentration, command following and to increase her overall intellectual ability. She was given exercises that would help her improve understanding, address her behavior, sensory and motor issues. She was given a combination program of occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech therapy and psychological counseling under the guidance of some of the most experienced professionals in the field. This helped her develop her overall skills, abilities and overall development. All the activities and rehabilitation they were taught at NeuroGen were continued after going home.
After Cell therapy it was noticed that Maayra’s eye contact has improved, and she was able to maintain it for a longer duration. Her social interaction had improved, and she was able to socialize and respond when her name was called out. She started playing with familiar children, and her cognition had improved. She could now recognize colors, numbers, alphabets and her attention and concentration improved. Her recent & remote memory improved. She started learning new things better and was able to follow commands well. She was able to follow one step simple command with repeated prompts. Her problem solving also improved, and she started trying to engage in problem solving. Her environmental awareness became better than before, as well as her understanding of relationships. She even began attempting to speak. She started indicating things verbally. Her hyperactivity also reduced. Her laughing without reason also reduced. Her sitting tolerance improved, she began sitting through a task. She even began learning how to swim. Her fine motor activity has improved and she was able to start holding a pencil better.
"We are happy with the improvement seen in Maayra after Cell Therapy sessions and understand the importance of Neurorehabilitation. We appeal to the government to spread awareness about such disorders and stress on how helpful Cell Therapy can be in treating such cases. As responsible citizens, we are contributing our share of responsibility towards this society by establishing “ Sky Kid Care Academy”, which is a platform for other socially disabled children cope up with their difficulties by providing rehabilitation therapies at a much cheaper rate in tie up with the government of Chhattisgarh”, expressed Dr. Priyanka and Mr. Anand, Maayra’s parents.
Dr Richa Bansod further said “Autism spectrum disorder causes impairments in higher mental functions. It could cause hyperactivity and aggressiveness. It also affects social interactions. Their speech, language and communication skills are severely impaired. Autistic children usually aren’t able to go to normal schools and are completely dependent on parents and caretakers for activities of daily living. It is more commonly observed in boys than in girls. The onset of symptoms is generally noted before the age of 3 years in children, although in many individuals, it is noticed at a much older age. The exact etiology and pathophysiology still isn't completely understood. However, research has pointed to several possible factors, such as genetics, metabolic or neurological factors, certain types of infections, prenatal or postnatal environment, etc.
