Interviewed by The Success Today โ A Digital Webzine.
๐ญ) ๐ง๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐.
I completed my course from Ali Yavar Jung in 2000. I have done numerous short courses from the US namely ABA, PECS Level 1, Specialisation in Speech-language development in Autism. I have also written research papers on Early intervention in Autism, on the Green scan Model of Therapy in Autism and so on.
It wouldnโt be wrong to say Aakaar is my brainchild ever since I started college I had envisioned having a center where I can cater to the needs of Special children. My vision got a foundation in 2009 with just 3 people including me we opened our doors primarily for Speech Therapy, Occupation Therapy and Special Education. Now my professional family tree has grown, over the years more professionals have joined so that we are able to guide every child that comes to our center.
No academic institution teaches you entrepreneurial skills. When I opened Aakaar, I had no idea what it takes to run a business, I simply relied on my instincts, soft skills, honesty and above all followed Aakaarโs motto rigorously which is โEvery child has potentialโ Throughout whatever challenges we faced at Aakaar we asked ourselves just one question โWhat can we do to maximize the childโs potential?โ And as an answer, we kept on improvising and enhancing our facilities. To ensure smooth running we have a collaborative team of pediatricians, Dieticians, Adult, and Child Psychologists, Rehabilitation psychologists. Other than that we conduct vocational courses for kids like baking, we have teachers who specialize in NIOS studies, we constantly have meetings with parents, we have feedback forms to understand parents’ perspectives on our services, we have progress mapping for continuous development in children. While taking care of everything me and my team made sure that the quality doesnโt get compromised. Currently, we have also started catering to children of economically weaker parents. Fees for them are subsidized or additional sessions are provided to enhance the progress.
๐ฎ) ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐น๐ฑ?
I have always loved children. I was naturally good with them. While growing up too I used to be surrounded by them spending my free time playing with them. It occurred to me why not make a career in something I love doing, it was a brainer that I wanted to work with children. Specializing in speech therapy appealed to me as I believe โYour life is an expression of your thoughtsโ and enabling children to express themselves independently gives me a sense of empowerment.
๐ฏ) ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐/๐ฐ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐?
My center has a broad range of services catering to the needs of every unique child. The prominent services are Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Psychological Testing (Adults and Children), Counseling, and Special Education, each of these services are customized and planned suiting to each childโs need. We pay attention to minor details while planning out goals and sessions for the child ensuring there would be a considerable amount of progress with passing time. Other than that we have group sessions for kids to enable them to learn social skills; we have a brain gym for cognitive development also summer camps are planned during the school break for them.
๐ฐ) ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐?
The real achievement that I have gained in this industry is trust and appreciation from parents. My father and family are proud of my work. Trust and belief from my staff; these achievements are something I truly cherish.
Other than that I was named as Young Emerging Entrepreneur by Silicon Valley in 2015 the same year I was also awarded Young Entrepreneur by Prime Time. Later in 2019, My Centre Aakaar CDLC was chosen among the top 10 Clinics in India by Silicon Valley.
๐ฑ) ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐๐๐น๐?
My love for kids and the love I receive from them in small innocent ways is what keeps me going. Each time a parent appreciates or they express what it means to see the development in their child it just boosts me; Even the tiniest of progress in a child for eg: a child who was once non-verbal in expressing now coming up and saying Hi ma’am, even such simple things drives my motivation. Other than the wonderful kids at the center, my father is my ultimate motivation his immense belief in me and the future he saw for us keeps me passionate and motivated each day.
๐ฒ) ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ?
The thing that I have lived by and has given me success is โFollow your heart and intuition they truly know what you want, everything else is secondary.โ Also, love what you do put your heart and soul in your work it always pays off on all levels.
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