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Autism, a neurological condition that often shows symptoms by the age of three is the third most prevalent developmental impairment worldwide. Affecting 1 in 100 Indian children under the age of 10, 18 million people in India are currently estimated to have autism.

Furthermore, the country has seen an unexpected increase in the number of autism cases attributed to several factors, including low awareness, a lack of basic services, and inadequate diagnosis. Learning impairments ranging from mild to severe have been found in about 10 percent of school-age children.

To improve this situation and the lives of autistic children, Bengaluru-based Pinnacle Blooms Network emerged to become a one-of-a-kind autistic treatment centre in the world, bringing relief and happiness to parents by empowering their autistic kids with holistic development.

The inception

Pinnacle Blooms Network is the brainchild of Dr. Sreeja Reddy Saripalli, the founder and managing director of Bharath HealthCare, the health-tech division of Kotii Group of Technological Ventures R&D.

Starting a new venture can be a daunting task, especially when there’s a lack of support from family and peers. A mother of two, Dr. Sreeja kept on hearing and researching issues in child psychology. People’s lack of interest to delve deeper into the root cause of autism seemed to amaze her.

This led her to start her venture when she came up with the idea of starting a treatment network that can help such kids to get empowered through various therapies and make them self-sufficient. Thus, they will be able to be a part of mainstream society, which will further bring smiles of relief and contentment to their families.

“People are still not educated about autism. Many of the families I assist express concern that they unintentionally contributed to their child’s autistic symptoms. Autism is not brought on by parents, we are certain of this. Although scientists still don’t fully understand the origins of autism spectrum disease, we do know that no one parenting style is to blame. So, we are rigorously working towards creating awareness among people about what it is, what are symptoms and how you can deal with it to give a better future to these children,” she says.

It all begins with an assessment program

Pinnacle is working towards the goal of providing autistic children with a constructive autism therapy program offering comprehensive assessment, treatment, and consultation in an interdisciplinary environment. Collaboration with other disciplines such as occupational therapy, psychological counselling, speech therapy, and behavioural therapy is included as and when required in the assessment.

“The process starts with filling up the initial form by anyone who wants his/ her kid to be treated. Post this, our respective team gets in touch with the family for further assessment of the child. Once the assessment is done we suggest the required therapy for further development,” adds Dr. Sreeja.

The entire evaluation typically takes 1 – 3 hours to complete, depending on the child’s individualised needs. Pinnacle Blooms Network specialises in the diagnostic process of speech, language, social, and other communication disorders. Typically, to start therapy, the child will require an official evaluation, which usually entails the completion of a standardised assessment.

Pinnacle Blooms Network’s Speech Language Therapist completes a comprehensive assessment for speech, language, cognition, swallowing, and feeding disorders. Therapy is offered for speech issues, oral motor skills, language, communication, social interaction, cognitive communication (memory, organisational skills, problem-solving), and dysphagia (feeding and swallowing disorders).

“Our speech therapists rely on years of experience and numerous hours of continuing education to work closely with patients and their families to improve communication, learning, and quality of life. The therapist will conduct an interview and review the documentation provided. During the session, parents can expect formal and informal assessment tasks to be completed. Following the evaluation, parents should expect to receive the report within a couple of days post the evaluation,” she explains.

Making an impact

With the mission of providing autistic children with every training they require to have a successful future, Pinnacle Blooms Network has built a framework with 140+ patented technology that blends new-age technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Machine Learning, and Cloud Computing.

Dr Sreeja cites an example of how five-year-old Ajay Chauhan could lead a normal life post-therapy with the assistance of Pinnacle Blooms.

Ajay was diagnosed with autism at the age of three years and two months. He was extremely aggressive and restless, and never able to remain still for more than a few seconds. Three to four words or sentences made up the majority of his vocabulary. But he started showing signs of improvement significantly after six months of training. Following the instruction, he can now relate to others, particularly the elderly. His vocabulary has grown and he is now able to dine alone in restaurants.

Thus, with 1:1 exclusive therapy sessions successfully performed by 500+ staff members, showing 96 percent + evaluated parental satisfaction, Pinnacle Blooms has ramped up the game and involves all reasonable steps to ensure that children have a happy life and are able to support themselves.

The road ahead

Currently, Pinnacle Blooms Network is globally present in Dubai, Singapore, and the USA. The company has also won several PAN India Awards like the #1 Autism Therapy Centres Network by TIMES, India’s Best Autism Therapy Centres Network – Women Leadership Awards – by Praxis Media, etc.

Carving the future roadmap, Dr. Sreeja feels that India is still lagging in terms of coming to par with the awareness and measures for treating autism with open arms.

“We are vigorously organising awareness programs and workshops to make people realise that autism is not the end of the future. If the problem is caught early and the child is given the right tools to deal with their sensory systems through several therapeutic programs specifically created for their needs, each of them can lead a happy and normal life, with a sustainable career, and a family,” she explains.