Sujit

At only 14 years old Sujit has already been diagnosed with Bipolar Affective Disorder displaying in rapid cycles. He comes from a very poor village in West Bengal, which doesn’t have access to even basic facilities like electricity, and where very few children receive education. His symptoms were first noticed at the age of 8yrs and included not talking to others, crying without cause and sudden mutism. Sujit can become suddenly depressed, a problem which occurs very frequently and without cause. He lives with 7 other members in the family, his father is unemployed and his mother is a full time housewife. For this reason none of his 4 siblings are receiving any form of education, all of them work to earn a daily wage. For the same reason all family members are in poor health due to malnutrition. Although Sujit was receiving concessionary help from Antara the family could no longer afford the travel costs. He did and will respond well to medication, but without access to free treatment, will be unable to receive it. The ‘Children’s fund’ will help many like Sujit who face futures of illness, alienation and poverty.

Sudip

Sudip’s family noticed he had problems 2 years ago when he was only 4 years old. He had a tendency to wander, use abusive language, self-talk, would beat and spit at others and was extremely restless. As a child all his developmental milestones were delayed and before coming to Antara no treatment was under taken. He has been diagnosed with ADHD and mental retardation. Although the father is a shopkeeper and the only source of income for the family the social support of the family is not good as he has an aggressive temperament. Antara hopes through the treatment Sudip receives he will become self-sufficient in daily activities and self help skills and avoid further exclusion from society.

Utpal

As a child he displayed many symptoms, at 6 months old he had difficulty breathing, at 3 he developed a seizure disorder and since then has developed temper tantrums, poor eye contact, aggressiveness and hyperactivity.  Antara has diagnosed him with mental retardation and ADHD with autistic tendencies.  He lives within a joint family including both his uncles and one cousin, where his father is the sole provider. Due to this their economical and social situation is very poor. Utpal is lucky enough to have found a place in a school for children with special needs and with Antara’s family counselling and behaviour modification sessions it is hoped they will be able to reduce hyperactivity, modify any problematic behaviour and increase articulation skills. However this treatment involves weekly home and school visits by Antara’s Child Guidance team and for the treatment to be able to continue they will need heavily treatment subsidized from the Children’s fund.

Dillip

Dillip comes from a disrupted family where his father is an unemployed alcoholic and his mother has to work all day as a nursing attendant. Now at 4 years Dillip has been diagnosed with mild mental retardation and atypical autism showing symptoms of poor social interaction, unable to speak within context in an organized manner, restlessness and absent-mindedness. All his developmental milestones were delayed, he is still unable to respond when called by name and speech consists of just a few words and sounds. With no other family support around Dillip is left in the care of his grandmother whilst his mother is at work. She uses primitive methods of discipline and keeps the child tied with rope whilst she does her housework. His father does not help financially with any aspects of the family and apart from the mother no other family members seem concerned about the child’s health. Whatever little money she earns, she spends on treatment for the child. Antara hope to be able to offer free treatment and financial support through the ‘Children’s fund’  so she can under take a training programme at home to help her aid the child in speech, play, social skills and communication. It’s hoped in this way the child may develop some element of independence.

Ikram

Ikram, 13 yrs old, came to Antara through the Child Guidance Clinic. He is from a Muslim family with a Mother, Father and 5 brothers and sisters. His three eldest sisters were all married, and his youngest sister is just 6 yrs. Old. His father (now 65) can no longer work due to a bad eye, and his mother is an illiterate housewife. IT falls to Ikram and his elder brother aged 15 to provide income for all the family.  Both boys take a long journey to work  in Kolkata each day , to work in a factory operating heavy and dangerous machinery. It is felt that Ikram’s mental health problems are most likely to have emerged as a result of this pressures to work and the day-to day risks he faced. He and his family will receive help and guidance from Antara’s Child services team.

All names are changed to protect confidentiality. Photographs do not correspond to patient histories