Inculcation of Siddhar Yogam and Siddha Varmam for Managing the Learning Disorders in Adolescents via RBSK Scheme - a Proposal

Abstract

The RBSK scheme or the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram is a scheme that has been introduced by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt of India with the aim of providing comprehensive care to all the children in a community. The scheme is primarily directed at the screening and free treatment of the  children from birth to 18 years of age for four Ds- Defects at birth, Diseases, Deficiencies and Development delays, spanning 32 common health conditions. Siddhar Yogam and Siddha Varmam are the branches of Siddha System of medicine which are specifically effective in the management of conditions that  require prolonged/ lifelong treatment. Of the 30 health conditions, some are in the dire need for surgical intervention. The other conditions could only be managed. Not treated. Grossly speaking, developmental delays could never be completely treated and the patients are on drugs/ treatments throughout their  life. The administration of Siddhar Yogam and Siddhar Varmam methods could boost up the results of the pre existing treatments. One major setback that  such students face in their day to day life is the learning disorder- a condition where the child has difficulty in one or more areas of learning, even when overall  intelligence or motivation is not affected. These may include processing of phonetics, language, memory etc. Siddhar Yogam and Siddha Varmam techniques include the self manipulation of certain Varma points and the practicing of Ashtaanga Yogam techniques to bring down the severity of such  conditions. These have proven to have a better stand in managing such conditions, when coupled with the pre existing treatment techniques. This paper proposes how these cost effective yet easily administrable techniques could be inculcated in the RBSK scheme