Aziza's Transformation

Six year old Aziza lives with her mother in Uzbekistan. The only source of income for the family is the food her mother cooks and sells at the local market. Leaving the TV switched on, Aziza’s mother used to lock Aziza in the house when she left for the market. Being confined to the house, Aziza never experienced the stimuli of being outside - the television was the only source she had to help her develop.

When Aziza came to the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) center in October 2009, she was very calm, quiet, and able to speak but she was still crawling instead of walking. Her feet were rigid and her hands barely moved at all. With the consent of her mother, we arranged medical examinations and a rehabilitation plan for Aziza, including work with speech therapists and rehabilitation activities (massage, physical therapy).

In the CBR center, the caregivers took Aziza out onto the lawn and conducted lessons in the open air. They taught the her to use pencils, to paint, and Aziza has started studying letters and numbers. No one had ever worked with Aziza like that before so of course her knowledge level was initially very low. Now she studies with pleasure and she has developed many friends. Aziza has been transformed from a calm and quiet girl to an active, joyful, sociable girl typical of her age.

As a result of the lessons on hand motor development, Aziza has began to draw and hold the pencils in her hands. She has also learned to count, learned the names of pets and started to study the alphabet. Her progress has been so great that she is now being prepared to go to a mainstream school.