Handicapped children hampered by denial<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The difficulties faced by mentally-handicapped
\nchildren are often compounded by parental denial that a problem
\nexists, a psychologist said on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Parents' self-denial often means late detection of the child's
\ncondition, according to Surastuti Nurdadi of the University of
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
\"Usually the problem is only detected when the child is
\nalready at school, when the teacher notices that the child is
\nlagging behind,\" Surastuti told a seminar. \"This is sad, because
\nearlier stimulation could have significantly helped the child.\"<\/p>\n
Surastuti, discussing a problem which affects some 700,000
\nmentally-handicapped children in Indonesia, was one of the
\nspeakers at a seminar on brain development of fetuses and
\ninfants.<\/p>\n
After the seminar, held by the Jakarta branch of the
\nIndonesian Pediatricians' Association, Surastuti told The Jakarta
\nPost that denial or self-deception on the part of parents is
\ncaused by a strong wish to believe there is really nothing wrong
\nwith their child.<\/p>\n
With repeated consultations, parents may eventually accept
\ntheir child as he is and start learning how better to educate
\nhim. \"With poor families it is impossible to refer the child to
\nthe (more expensive) special schools,\" said Surastuti, a staff
\nmember of the University's Applied Psychology Institute.<\/p>\n
\"If the child is only a slow learner or mildly retarded, we
\ncan refer him to regular schools, but ones in which the teachers
\ncan -- hopefully -- pay greater attention to the child
\nconcerned.\"<\/p>\n
She told the seminar that a mentally-handicapped child has a
\nbetter chance of survival if he can be taught what behavior is
\ntolerated by his surroundings. She cited toilet training as an
\nexample.<\/p>\n
\"If not, the child will be dependent on others forever,\" she
\nadded.<\/p>\n
The first part of the seminar focused on nutrition. A
\nnutritional biochemist from the World Health Organization,
\nRicardo Uauy-Dagach, spoke of recent progress in the search for
\nthe perfect infant formula.<\/p>\n
He said new formula has overcome the main shortcoming of
\nexisting formulas, namely the lack of docosahexaenoic acid, a
\nfatty acid essential for the development of the fetus' brain.<\/p>\n
The new formula was introduced earlier this year in Europe and
\nJapan, Uauy-Dagach said. He said breast feeding was still very
\nimportant in countries like Indonesia, in which baby formula is
\nstill expensive for many people.<\/p>\n
While the new improved formula is not yet on the Indonesian
\nmarket, the head of the Jakarta branch of the Pediatrician's
\nAssociation, Hardiono D. Pusponegoro, said the existing products
\nfor babies who cannot be breastfed are safe, provided that
\nparents administer them properly and in accordance with medical
\nadvice.<\/p>\n
He added that, under the Indonesian campaign on breastfeeding,
\nall maternity clinics and hospitals must let mothers feed their
\nbabies first, before the infants are introduced to formula. (anr)<\/p>",
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