Special Mom group is a hope to mothers with special children. Take help.

She suffered the pains of being a mother to a special child. She was so immersed in taking care of her child with special needs that she couldn't give time to her younger son. She even missed doing simple things for herself like combing the hair. She left all that she used to do earlier and spent all of her time taking care of her special child. The result is her deteriorating health - both physical and mental. People started to notice the changes in her. But she has never drifted apart from her responsibility. Though it was constantly subjecting her to stress, she loved to help her son. Not only that, she thought of all those mothers who are dealing with special children and understood that everyone is going through the same pain. She thought of doing something about it in order to relieve such mothers from stress. Her initiative is helping all the mothers who are dealing with children with special needs by giving them hope, happiness, and courage and is keeping them going. She is Kreeti Mitra Bhatia from Delhi and this is her story.

Personal Struggle:

Delhi-based Kreeti Mitra Bhatia’s first son was diagnosed with autism within a few months after his birth. Initially, Kreeti had no clue about how to maintain balance in her life while taking care of her son which led to emotional and mental agony. Her psychology and understanding of things changed. "I realised that I was missing spending time with my younger son who also needed me.", she recollects. Moreover, she couldn’t do anything she liked. "There were days when I forgot to do something basic like combing my hair. All this gradually affected my health.", she said. Eventually, Kreeti realised that she is not the only one facing such a situation but there are many mothers just like her. She then started thinking about the plight of other women who have special needs kids.

The Trigger Moment:

Kreeti always thought of mothers who are juggling between their own lives and taking care of their special children but the actual trigger to get into real action came when she came across a news report about a Bengaluru mother who fed poison to her disabled 14-year-old son and ended her own life later. “I was shocked and aghast because I could relate with that mother and the struggles that she would have gone through.", she said. Kreeti kept thinking about this for over a week. "She did not have anyone to help or support her. She just couldn’t do anything and I won’t blame her for not seeking help”, says Kreeti. She then strongly realised that she has to immediately jump into action to do something for the thousands of other mothers who are undergoing similar situations everyday. "It’s been tumultuous 6 years of my life where I have witnessed my son with autism face challenges. As a mother, the first instinct was to put your heart and soul in looking for reasons and solutions. Like me, every mother/wife/sister/daughter of a special need person on this planet go through emotional setbacks and starts losing hope. It’s a dark world, we have no answers.", Kreeti shared. 

Thought Into Action:

Her thought to help mothers is ok, but how would she do it? She wanted to bring all special children's mothers together on a single platform where they can talk, share stories, have fun, enjoy and forget for sometime, about all that they go through everyday. She found that social media is the best platform and thus started a group on Facebook called The Special Mom.

The Special Mom:

The group that was started in March 2019, focuses on the emotional and mental well-being of mothers who are involved in the upbringing of their special children. The group organises various activities like open discussions, occassional meet-ups in and around New Delhi, share problems, talk, have fun all the way forgetting for sometime, all that they do everyday and remember that their lives and well being also matters. A few moments of having crazy fun gives immense strength to all the mothers to face another day of challenges. It also gives that assurance that they can receive help when in need. "We will meet once a month only and only to have fun, talk, ask questions, laugh, cry, do whatever, no one will stop you! Just let yourself go!", says Kreeti about the group.

Within just a year, the group started receiving amazing response from mothers. The group also has professionals and therapists to help mothers. The group also initiated a programme called Personal safety for Special Needs Kids that aims to teach the children with disabilities about good and bad touch. Kreeeti says that children with special needs have sensory issues and they cannot even recognise when someone is sexually abusing them. They think that the abuser is showing extra affection on them. Thus, The Special Mom conducts sessions on how to teach special children about the good and bad touch. "We are testing and trying newer things. We might succeed or fail. But we do not want to leave any stone unturned to make sure that we offer nothing lesser than the best for our children and their mothers”, says Kreeti. The Special Mom has over 1500 likes on Facebook and has over 850 members. Their regular meetings are scheduled in Noida and later in Bengaluru and Kolkata respectively.

The mother, who, inspite of juggling hard between various things in life, thought about others who share the same pain. "Special Mom" group has helped many and many more need help.

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