Children with Disabilities
Mustard Seed Communities has focused on abandoned children with disabilities for several reasons, the most obvious being that these children are the most defenseless in any community. Mustard Seed Communities provides care and shelter for children with severe disabilities. The children live with disabilities of varying degrees.
Due to the level of poverty in the countries that we serve, children with handicaps and other disabilities are routinely abandoned, as parents are unable to cope or afford their care. The children at Mustard Seed Communities have disabilities that include: cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome, autism, epilepsy, blindness, mental retardation, scoliosis, microcephaly, progeria and others. The objective is to provide these children with a safe and healthy place to live, where they have care and therapy. MSC’s purpose is to advance the moral, mental and physical well being of children with disabilities.
Therapy is a key component of caring for children with disabilities. The children that are physically challenged are assessed and specific treatment plans and goals are created for each child through the Care Plus program at each site where they live. Each child has a specific treatment plan and personal goals. At least a half hour is spent in direct, one to one contact per child per day. The other activities may include positioning or other activities that do not require one to one contact but occasional monitoring.
Activities in the department include Passive Range of Motion, Active Assisted Range of Motion and Active Range of Motion Exercises, stretching, massages, self-feeding, tactile stimulation, positioning, vestibular stimulation, assisted ambulation, using walkers, cognitive therapy, eye hand co-ordination, and multisensory stimulation. There are also outdoor activities.
