“It is a disorder, not a decision”.
Today, I have come up with something so close to my heart. I have always thought of doing something for welfare but was not able to initiate anything. I’m so glad that I enrolled in Amal fellowship program that is making all my goals and dreams come true.
The problem which I have observed so scrupulously in our society is related to mental illness. And no, I am not addressing adults here. I am solely talking about children. Among all children, 6.8% have attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 3.5% have oppositional defiance disorder and conduct disorder. 3% have depression. Yes, you read it right. Children are depressed too. 2.1% have anxiety disorder. 1.1% have autism spectrum disorder and the list goes on. And the irony is that , 79% of children with mental health disorders DON’T RECEIVE TREATMENT.
My mega project is about “Helping and counselling families having children with mental disabilities. In this journey, we will spread awareness as much as possible to general public and try to refer or consult children of needy families to specialized doctors for their proper diagnosis and treatment. We will also come up with awareness drives each month in different areas for recognition and cognizance.
We live in a society where children and their behaviors often get neglected due to lack of information and realization. I have learnt a lot about this issue in last few days. I believe that it can be resolved by our team efforts.
The major thing which I learnt was a positive and non-cognitive trait called “GRIT”. It is a mixture of 5 characters mainly courage, conscientiousness, perseverance, resilience and passion. GRIT is required to help children with mental health illnesses.
Due to the pandemic and Covid surge, I avoided to visit doctors and related people involved in this but I had a virtual contact with some people related to this field and they were delighted after hearing my objective and aim. I felt accomplished and satisfied by the plan that I had made to solve this problem of our society. I learned a lot more about empathy, humanness and felt a sense of responsibility, being a part of society.
Lastly, I hope that I would be able, along with my team, to serve general public for the betterment of society as well as my own self. Because mental health must be made a priority.
