Special school for muscular dystrophy victims

CHENNAI: North Chennai will soon get a special school for children suffering from muscular dystrophy,announced Mayor M Subramanian. This announcement comes as a shot in the arm of the Muscular Dystrophy Association of India, which for over a decade has been doing commendable work in this area.

Speaking at the annual day celebration of the first Special Muscular Dystrophy School, he said, “ Soon Chennai corporation along with the Muscular Dystrophy Association will work to start a special school for the benefit of students in North Chennai.” The children who suffer from this genetic diseases develop progressive weakness and degeneration of muscles, restricting their movement. Though weak in body these children have an intelligent mind, which deserves nurturing. Dr V Vishwanathan,founder president of MDA India said, “ We hope the cure for this is not far away. Till then we have the responsibility to keep the children happy and engaged, and getting them to the school is the first step forward.” For the benefit of these children MDA India along with the help of Chennai Corporation started a special school in 2009 in Thousand Lights area.

According to international statistics, this disorder occurs to one in every 3500 children born. Approximately, the estimate of children affected with Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy, one of the most prevalent types in Chennai, is 3000 and in Tamil Nadu about 30,000. These children are generally born normal but over a period of time, due to the lack gene which produces the protein dystrophin, the muscles start degenerating, leading to inability to walk, characterized by toe walking, frequent falls, and progressive difficulty in getting up from the floor.

Around 10 years of age, most of these children are unable to walk on their own, and have to be carried or become wheel chair- bound. In the day’s event the donors who had contributed to make the lives of these children easier were also honoured, chief among them Kuka Selvam, chairman, Thai Navaneetham Kuppusami Charitable Trust, who donated a special bus with hydraulic hoist to assist the wheel chairs into the bus so that these children can come to school at ease.