Today our own Dr Sebastian described for us his new approach to assessing children at Karuna Vihar. In addition to all the usual things he has always looked at, he’s added one special twist: he asks parents what their dreams are for their child. What are they planning? What do they hope for? How do they see that child in ten years?

It’s radical in so many ways.

It helps parents begin to see the need to think long-term, to plan realistically, to accept in concrete ways the special needs their child will always have. But it also helps us as we work with families to achieve those dreams. If part of a child’s file contains “Parents dream he will one day manage a corner shop” or “Parents believe she can be a chef’s assistant,” we, too, work differently.

We’ve got a goal. We may need to adjust it as we go, as the child him or herself grows up and begins expressing his/her own dreams, or as reality points out the flaws in our planning, but at least we’ve got something to work toward.

At the Latika Vihar picnic yesterday, I was struck, as I so often am, by the vibrancy of our children, by their curiosity and wonder and eagerness to live, to learn, to grow and achieve. And as I listened to Dr Sebastian this afternoon, I thought about those children and their dreams. Is anyone asking them what they want, what they hope for, what they aspire to?