I'm thrilled to share some exciting news with all of you - we have won the PIL! 😊 After three long years of inaction, we have successfully achieved a significant milestone. Our collective efforts have paid off, and I couldn't be more grateful for everyone's support. But our journey is far from over. We need your help to continue making a difference. We are requesting short 1 or 2-minute videos where you can share why you support us. Let's not wait for something unfortunate to happen and then react with candles, hashtags, and protests. Instead, let's be proactive and take action now! In recent days, a heart-wrenching story came to light - a five-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her therapist during her speech and language sessions. It's a stark reminder of the abuses that can happen behind closed doors in therapy rooms. How many of us have spoken out against such practices and raised our voices? Our journey began in March 2015 when a six-year-old non-verbal autistic boy returned from his therapy sessions with a broken arm. This incident raised questions about transparency and accountability in therapy centers. Why aren't parents allowed inside therapy rooms? Why aren't there CCTV cameras or one-way screens to monitor sessions? These were the questions TogetherWeCan aimed to address. We filed a petition to the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights in April 2015, and despite their recommendations in our favor, no action was taken. It wasn't until May 2017 that we filed a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) to bring about changes in therapy centers. Our mission is clear: we aim to regulate therapy centers, establish best practices for various therapies, ensure parent representation in monitoring committees, advocate for government facilities, empower parents, and shift the focus from "curing" to improving the quality of life for families. We also call for the mandatory usage of Individualized Education Program templates, an end to closed-door therapy, and more transparency. To mitigate these issues, parents must be allowed inside therapy rooms to monitor their child's progress. Regular monthly reports should be sent to parents to track their child's training, and SMART goals should be a priority. Emotional exploitation of parents must cease. We've come a long way, but our work is not done. Please continue to support us, and let's work together to create a safer and more accountable future. #TogetherWeCan #ActNow #RegulateTherapyCenters
