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Button Introduction Button Activities Button Achievements
Button Publications Button DCCD Course

CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTRE, MEDICAL COLLEGE CAMPUS,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA
An autonomous centre of excellence in early child Care & Education,
Adolescence, Pre-marital Counselling and Women's Welfare and related under Government of Kerala.

OUR MOTTO
Reduction of Childhood Disability Through Reduction of Low
Birth Weight Through Reduction of Pre-Adolescent and
Adolescent Undernutrition.


INTRODUCTION
The Child Development Centre (CDC), Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram was started on 1st August, 1987. As in many other aspects of health care delivery, Kerala has been the first to launch a project for Clinical Child Development. The Project was initially sponsored by the KHRWS and later supported by the Kowdiar palace Trust, Thiruvananthapuram.
During the year 1995-96 this full fledged CDC was established by the Government of Kerala with the intensiio of bringing up this centre as an autonomous centre of excellence in early child care and education, adolescence, pre-marital counseling and women's welfare and their related fields. The major activities envisaged are developmental evaluation, child development clinics, therapy services preschool activities, advanced research activities and training programs for anganwadi workers, social workers and doctors, etc.....in the field.

Governing Body
The central, administration and management of the centre is vested with the governing body under the Carimanship of the Hon'ble Chief Minister, Government of Kerala and the Vice Chairmanship of Hon'ble chief Ministerm Govenment of Kerala and the Vice Chairmanship of Hon'ble Minister for Health & Family Welfare and the Executive under the chairmanship of the Principal Secretary to Government of Kerala, H & FW Department and the Director CDC as Member secretary.


CDC ACTIVITIES
Button Follow-up of Low Birth Weight Babies
Button Early Detection of Disabilities
Button Readiness testing of children before school entry.
Button Teenage Care & Counselling
Button Pre-marital Counseling
Button Awareness programs related to teenage care, mother and child care issues
Button CDC Speciality Clinics
Button Friday - Developmental Evaluation Clinic - Referred cases with development delay, below tow years.
Button Monday - At- risk Baby Clinic - LBW follow-up at two months.
Button Wednesday - Developmental Screening Clinic - LBW babies at four, eight and twelve months.
Button Thursday - High -risk Baby Clinic - LBW babies needing specialised therapy.
Button Tuesday - Pre-school Clinic - School entry redyness
Button Saturday - Teenage clinic - Adolescents 10-19 years.
Button Organises Training programs for ICDS functionaries.
Button One Week packaged training for establishment of Development Evaluation Clinic. CDC works hand-in-hand with the following :

CDC works hand-in-hand with the following :
Button UNICEF & iap Button Social Welfare Department
Button Education Department Button Health Department
Button Tribal Welfare Department Button Various Panchyaths
Button State Resource Centre Button Kudumbasree Projects
Button Nehru Yuva Kendra Button National Service Scheme
Button Literacy Mission.


ACHIEVEMENTS
Child Development Centre, Trivandrum developed the following through in-house research for use in the community.

Developmental Observation Card ( DOC) :
Developmental disabilities are often seen in infants with no apparent risk factors. Hence it is ideal to have some sort of developmental evaluation for all babies. This is possible by using this self explanatory and simple card, that can be used by the parents. The large majority of developmental delays could be identified by using cut off points for four simple developmental mile stones.

Social Smile achieved by completed 2 months.
Head holding achieved by completed 4 months
Sitting alone achieved by completed 8 months.
Standing alone achieved by completed 12 months.

CDC Granding for Motor Mile stones :
Head Holding : Completed 4 months
Grade 1 Head erect and steady momentarily
Grade 11 Dorsal suspension - lifts head along with body
Grade 111 Prone position - elevates on arms, lifting chest
Grade 1V Holds head steady while mother moves around.
Grade V Head balanced at all times.
Similar grading is available for sitting and standing.

Trivandrum Devlopmental Screening Chart (TDSC) :
This is a simple developmental screening test designed and validated at the Child Development Centre, Trivandrum. This can be applied to children below 2 years of age.
There are 17 test items in the chart, carefully chosen after repeated trial and error. A vertical line is drawn or a pencil kept vertically, at the chronological age of the child being tested. If the child fails to achieve any item that falls on the left side of the vertical line, the child is considered to have a developmental delay. Any obvious asymmetry is also considered abnormal.

NURSERY EVALUATIONS SCALE TRIVANDRUM (NEST)
Nest is a simple screening tool developed and validated at Child Development Centre Trivandrum, designed for Children belonging to age group 3-6 years (Pre-school). It consists of items on the gross motor, fine motor, cognitive personal, social, expressive language & receptive language. It is to be administered by the trained preschool teacher to assess the functional or performance capabilities of the pre-schoolers. NEST itself contains guidelines as to how to help the child if the child does not do any items on this scale.
An abridged form is also available, which can be used by preschool teachers with minimal training to demonstrate improvement in skill.

EARLY INTERVENTION THERAPY - CDC MODEL
CDC Thriruvanadapuram model of early intervention as developed at the Child Development Centre has evolved itself into a practical mother oriented stimulation and therapy model, amalgamating experiences of pioneers in the field to problems of working wth at-rish babies.
Early Detection of Spastic Babies - The angle formed while seperating the thighs is the adductor angle and any tightness or limitation of adductor angle is the earliest indicator of emerging spasticity.

The aims of early passive physical therapy are :
Button to prevent disuse atrophy of muscles.
Button to prevent disuse atrophy of muscles.
Button to prevent fixity of joints.
More than 30 Publications in National & International Journals were producced from Child Development Centre.


PUBLICATIONS

CDC News
Official News Letter of Child Development Centre, Trivandrum. It is a quarterly news letter detailing the various programmes of CDC, Community interventions, Conferences, etc..

FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY
Interested persons may contact : Dr. M.K.C. Nair,
Director,
Child Development Centre
Trivandrum.

Teens - Journal of Teenage Care & Pre-marital Counselling
This quarterly journal is aimed at Medical and Counselors. The first issue was on the proceedings of the National Workshop on Teenage Care & Counselling held at Kochi, Kerala.
The second issue to appear on 1st of August, 2000 will concentrate on Counseling.

FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY
Interested persons may contact : Dr. M.K.C. Nair,
Director,
Child Development Centre
Trivandrum.

Child Development 2000 and Beyond by Dr. M.K.C. Nair & Edited by Dr. Ranjan Kumar Pejwar
This book condenses the practical knowledge developed over 14 years in Child Development Centre, Trivandrum on Clinical Child Development.
Interested persons may contact : Prism Books Private Limited
165, 32nd Cross
BSK II Stage, Bangalore - 560 070
http://www.prismbooks.com


DIPLOMA IN CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT (DCCD Course)
Diploma in Clinical Child Development (DCCD) is the first course of its kind in India designed to create, qualified community level trainers, who can effectively deal with all areas of Early Child Care & Education including Newborn follow-up, Early Detection of developmental delay and Early stimulation therapy. B.Sc. (Home Science) Graduates are admitted to the course.
The Diploma holders will be able to conduct a Child Development Clinic under the guidance of a doctor. The routine activities of the unit, like Newborn Baby follow-up, Devlopment testing, Early intervetnion therapy and Training mothers to do the therapy at home could be done routinely by the DCCD holders. At the community level can work towards the goal of improving pre-school education along with the anganwadi workers, create awareness among mothers about adolescents and also conduct programmes for the teenagers.


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