The Indian Navy Welfare and Wellness Association, New Delhi, organized a training program from January 29—31 for teams from its Early Intervention Centers (EICs), still in their infancy, across the country. The Navy currently has five EICs, with 964 registered children.

Our Executive Director, Jo McGowan Chopra, was invited to share her experiences founding and sustaining Latika Nanhe (formerly the LRF Early Intervention Center). “Their commitment to the initiative is amazing,” Jo says. “All the top brass were there for the entire three days – the Head of Medical Services, pediatricians, pediatric neurologists, psychiatrists…. It was a galaxy of dignitaries”.

The speakers included Dr Shoba Srinath, retired Senior Professor from the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NIMHANS; Dr Pratibha Karanth, Director, Communication DEALL; Dr Neerja Thergaonkar, Lead Clinical Psychologist for NICU at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, England; Surg. Cmde. RW Thergaonkar; and Divya Nair, parent support group founder, among others. The event included a complex case discussion on autism spectrum disorder, a panel discussion on cerebral palsy, and a visit to the Navy’s Delhi EIC.

In her talk, ‘Beginning Needs Inspiration, Sustaining Needs Systems’, Jo spoke about how we began Latika Jaanch (formerly Gubbara), our assessment center, the importance of emphasizing child protection and mental health for both parents and children, and lauded the Indian Navy for sending out the message about the importance of early intervention. In her next talk, ‘Parents are Magicians’, she reminded the attendees, “We succeed when they think they did it on their own – because they did”.