Central Institute on Mental Retardation

Murinjapalam, Medical College. P. O., Thiruvananthapuram -11

Kerala, India
www.cimr.info, cimrdirector@gmail.com

Central Institute on Mental Retardation (CIMR) is the Executive arm of the

all Kerala Association for the Mentally Retarded (AKAMR), registered under the
Travancore-Cochin Literacy Scientific and Charitable Societies Act, 1955 and the
register No. is ER-411/1980.

CIMR is a Premier institute working towards the welfare and total

development of the Mentally Challenged persons, for the last 50 years. During the
last 40 years CIMR has developed a system of education namely Three Cs. This
system is based on shapes and colours and was developed through research,
application and refining through experiments during the past years. The institute
was founded by Rev. Fr. Thomas Felix CMI a philanthropist and internationally
acclaimed special educator of the mentally challenged.

CIMR is a national level NGO in India. It works closely with the families of
the mentally challenged, professionals working in this particular field, and various
governmental agencies. Through its dedicated and committed service for the
'poorest of the poor', it has earned itself an international reputation and is today a
National Resource Centre. Drawing from its vast experience and research-oriented
knowledge base, CIMR is an established organization par-excellence in the area of
human development with special reference to the mentally challenged.

Central Institute on Mental Retardation is an answer to the call of life -- each

and every human being by his or her very existence has a right to live.
Unfortunately, the mentally challenged have been traditionally relegated towards
the darker corners of human mind and society. CIMR and its various activities
have delivered many mentally challenged persons from the bonds of misery and
darkness; and thrust them into the sunshine of the Almighty as well as normal
human endeavors.
The following institutions are working under the CIMR banner.

1.Ashakendram at Cochin

Ashakendram at Cochin was the first special school-cum rehabilitation

centre of CIMR started in the State of Kerala in 1980. This is located in Ernakulam
(in the port city of Cochin) in a spacious campus with facilities for special
education, vocational training and rehabilitation. There are over 70 mentally
challenged children and 12 staff members. It is considered as a model centre
located in the part of the state.

2.Developmental Centre for the Mentally Retarded (DCMR),

Thiruvananthapuram

The normalization model centre for the mentally retarded children was
started in 1983 at Jagathy in Trivandrum, the capital city of Kerala State in South
India. This model Centre has over 170 mentally challenged children undergoing
training in various aspects of rehabilitation, including special education using the
“Three Cs” concept, mobility, vocational training, ARTS programme, Sports,
music, drama, dance, drawing, Painting, Agriculture, horse back riding, car driving
etc. Admission is granted irrespective of age, sex and functional levels. More than
45 staff members are working here. At present in the school is functioning at
CIMR campus, Murinjapalam.
3.Jeevan Prakash Child Centre, Thiruvnanthapuram:- Early Identification
and Early Intervention and Therapy

Established in 1991 in
collaboration with “Aktion Sonnenschein at Kinderzentrum” of Germany, this
unique child centre has facilities to examine and identify developmental disorders.
Those found with disorders are given Vojta Therapy, Montessori Therapy
(Intervention) and also Orofacial Therapy. From 1991 to 2019, a total of 15,047
children were screened at Jeevan Prakash and associated centers for developmental
delays, out of which 8145 children received various (Vojta, Orofacial or
Montessori Therapy) services from the Jeevan Prakash Childre Centre.

4. Teachers training Programme: D.Ed. S.E. (MR).

To spread the opportunity of special

education to a greater number of people,
CIMR also runs teachers training courses.
CIMR trains special teachers, who have
competence and dedication. A two-year
residential course leading to ‘Diploma in
Special Education recognized by
Rehabilitation Council of India, and short term courses are also conducted. 49
batches have so far successfully trained 717 teachers. These teacher trainees have
identified more than 30,000 mentally challenged children from different states in
India, who were not getting any service from any other organization. At present the
50th and 51th batches are undergoing training. The enthusiasm with which trainees
continue to apply for this program bears testimony to the genuine, professional-
cum-humanitarian approach of CIMR.
5.Agricultural-Horticultural Rehabilitation Training Centre at Kuttichal,
Trivandrum

CIMR established an Agricultural-Horticultural farm at kuttichal, 30 Kms

away from the city of Thiruvananthapuram in June 1996 on a 10.8 acres plot which
serves as the Vocational Training centre for the mentally Challenged students of
DCMR and Asha Kendram. Activities in this farm are structured to develop
employment living skills and make them self-structured through the total
development. Students are deputed to the farm for one month. Selected groups of
students are taken to the farm every day for agricultural training. They are given
opportunities to attend all farm operations like Horticulture, Poultry farming, Fish
farming, cattle rearing, Medicinal Plants, Plant nursery etc. from sowing to harvest
and post harvest technology too. Batches of intellectually disabled children and
their mothers form neighboring Panchayat centers also visit farm regularly.
Students from different schools also visit the farm.

A project for the cultivation of new crops and also expanding the present
activities is under implementation. After completion of this project, the farm will
have a different look and will be an attractive and ideal one. The mentally retarded
children will spend their time in the farm in very pleasant natural surroundings in
addition to getting agricultural training.
 6. Freedom Centre

CIMR’s National Centre of Performing Arts for and by the Mentally

Challenged is located at Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram. Freedom Center is a
symbol of National Integration for integration of mentally challenged children and
their families as well to the nation as a whole. The centre – open to children from
all parts of the globe – offers long term training in various performing arts.

The Centre has a wide range of musical instruments, ample learning space,
and a well-equipped auditorium. Professional music teachers put in their hearts and
souls into developing hidden talents.

Batches of mentally challenged children and their mothers from each state of our
country have the facility to spend a week in Freedom Centre for learning new ideas
and exploring new possibilities in various forms of arts like Barathanatyam,
Mohiniattom, Kuchupudi, Oddissy, Drum, Ballet, Folk dance, Cinematic dance
and practice different musical instruments like Veena, Thamburu, Violin, Guitar,
percussion instruments and jazz for development of the children. These mothers,
who will note the development the Freedom Centre has brought into the mentally
challenged persons will become positively charged and will decide to teach their
children their own rural arts and crafts. They also will take back new ideas and
artistic skills with which they will teach other mothers in their area/locality. The
continuous interaction like this will open up new possibilities which will become a
trend that can bring about qualitative change in the life of mentally challenged
children all over India. Perhaps this may be world’s first centre of Performing Arts
Centre.
7. Therapeutic Horse Riding for the Mentally Challenged

This is another unique and highly successful initiative of CIMR.

The rocking and rhythmic motion that riding gives the students stimulates
various and different centers of body and brain simultaneously, which is highly
regarded as therapeutic. The purpose is to cater to faster development of the
mentally challenged person.

Students are shown how to clean and brush the horse, how to give massage
to the horse and the daily chores of keeping the stable clean and tidy. The purpose
is to reduce the fear of the students about animals like the horse and assure them
that we can build up friendship with them, as horse is an fierce and non domestic
animal.

Harnessing and saddling processes are shown to students to make them

understand and learn how systematically this has to be done so that we can lead a
horse as we wish and ride it. The purpose is to give the students ‘courage &
confidence’ that they can lead a fierce horse by holding the rein with a definite
length and strength.
 Our Children performing Fusion Dance with Famous artist

Our Student Performs Shadow Magic Famous Karate Master Hanshi Vinod Kumar
Teaching Karate to our children

Car driving class for our children. Our students harvesting rice which they
cultivated.

Web : www.cimr.info e- Mail : cimrdirector@gmail.com

Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbogF8tqkQOqJBozlPwVXPQ