Founded in 1991, Prerna is among the few institutions open to the mentally disabled otherwise deprived of voluntary assistance due to age limit constraints. Explains Managing Trustee Mayur Patel, ``Institutions for the mentally challenged conventionally end their training once the child reaches the age of 16 or 18 years. The question, however, that arises is what does the child do thereafter. Prerna has taken a step in that direction by concentrating on vocational training skills for mentally disabled adults''.

Patel stresses that under no circumstances does Prerna make a discrimination on the basis of age or nature of a person's disability as the criteria for disqualification. ``We are responsible for 22 children, so to speak, who are aged between the ages of eight to 44 years,'' he says, adding that the school ran from 9 am to 5 pm, round-the-year, with vacations being a decision entirely left on the parents.

``In a normal middle-class family set up, one can often find the mother of a mentally disabled individual devoting a larger share of her time in the child's upkeep. We wish to relieve the mother of some responsibilities, however, without either of the parent misconceiving our concern as an opportunity to shun their own responsibility. After all, we are only the soldiers in this struggle and they are the commandants,'' he says.

According to Patel, the commonest problem hampering the progress in most MR cases was lack of continuity in their behavioural patterns at home and school. ``These individuals have a minimum attention span. But instructed to behave in a certain manner at school, they habituate themselves accordingly. However, most parents do not try to understand the principle of behavioural modification. Thus, once they are back at home, their children shift to their normal ways forgetting what was taught at school and there is nobody to guide them,'' says Patel.

Besides the regular vocational training activities such as making of candles, chalk and greeting cards, Prerna offers elementary lessons in English, Hindi, Gujarati, Mathematics and vocabulary building. An unusual treat on the cards, however, is a specially designed software package for the mentally disabled taught by allowing them hands-on experience at the computer.

From December 17-19, Prerna along with the National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped, Hyderabad, will host the 12th National Seminar for the Mentally Handicapped in the city, the first of its kind in Gujarat.