Neuro Pediatric Physiotherapist | Sanket Khadilkar

This week’s spotlight features neuro pediatric physiotherapist, Sanket Khadhilkar. Sanket is certified in NDT. He is a proprietor of Happy feet pediatric clinic and also a co founder of NGO, Access to hope.

What is your name?

Sanket K. Khadilkar, PT C/NDT

What is your educational background?

Bachelor’s of physiotherapy (BPTh) – K. J. Somaiya College of physiotherapy. Batch of  2009

Certified NDT practitioner (C/NDT) – Neurodevelopmental treatment association

What did you do soon after graduation? For how long?

I worked in a UK Based NGO called Cheshire home at Andheri (East). Where we catered to underprivileged differently-abled kids. The caseload involved mainly cerebral palsy but we also used to see patients with myopathies, autism, spina bifida. 

That is how I started gaining hands-on experience, which was my aim. That lead to me actually evaluating and treating the patients than getting confused about doing masters. Masters was somewhere in the back of my mind but I got neck-deep into the hands-on practice. Finally, I ended up taking the NDT course.

I worked in Cheshire home for 9 years. Eventually, I came to head the physiotherapy department at Cheshire home.

Tell us more about the NDT course.

It is a US-based certification course by The Neurodevelopmental treatment association, but they conduct courses in India as well. The courses conducted in India follow US education standards right from theory, practical to candidate’s accommodation. They require you to have one year of neuro pediatrics experience and they ask you how many hours do you work. I got selected and completed 6 weeks course in Goa. They also offer 8 weeks module. The NDT course was definitely an eye-opener and changed the way I think. It was a great learning experience. 

Why did you choose to pursue Neuro physiotherapy?

By around the 3rd or 4th year in college, I knew I was good at managing children, not necessarily hands-on treatment. I also realized neuro is more interesting for me, both adult and pediatrics.

I attended a lecture on the Bobath approach by Roshan Vania Ma’am where she treated the adult neuro case. I was mind blown by seeing how subtle hands-on adjustments made a big difference for the patient. So I set my mind up for neuro physiotherapy. 

After completing graduation, my principal, Mrs. Veena Krishnanand, referred me to Dhruv Mehta who is a senior physiotherapist with over 35 years of experience. He got us in Cheshire and the paraplegic foundation. So I started getting experience in adult and pediatric neuro patients. I also met Harish Badiger at Cheshire who is a neuro pediatric physiotherapist. I saw him up close treating patients and that was inspiring. Initially, when I got started I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pursue adult or pediatrics neuro physiotherapy. 

When did you set up your mind to continue as a neuro pediatric physiotherapist?

As I mentioned, I completed the NDT course. Later I got a chance to learn from the instructor of my NDT instructor. I was able to observe her treating pediatric patients closely. It gave me a new perspective on treating pediatric patients. I learned problem-solving and how to customize the treatment for each child. Ever since then I decided to continue in the field of neuro pediatrics. 

What are you doing currently?

I am a proprietor of Happy feet pediatrics clinic for about 3 and a half years now. I am also a guest lecturer at Nanavati. I take online lectures. I teach practicals at my clinic. I am glad to say I have started my NGO named Access to hope with one of my friends.

What is a typical day of work for you?

My hours are 10-1 and 2-8. I treat the patient hands-on approach. Prior to lockdown, I was looking at hiring physios to expand my work. 

I see my clinic as an enterprise and I am a proprietor. I consider myself answerable to the vision of the clinic. This is a good experience for me because If anything goes wrong, I am the one who is accountable. I like this Challenge.  I have more freedom but it also comes with a lot of responsibility.

Tell us more about your NGO, Access to Hope

How it got started: Access to hope is the vision shared by me and my friend Jasmina Khanna. She is a software engineer. She has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. We did an accessibility audit in Parle east and found out that these places are not friendly for differently-abled people who need assistance or assistive device to navigate. We got a qualitative idea of how these places are. We shared the audit report with the government officials and they liked it.

Where are we now: We also decided to do this as an organization rather than as individuals because that just opens up more avenues to get things done. I am happy to say we are now a registered NGO. We have already started work to improved accessibility on Nehru Road, Vile Parle, and soon will begin the work at Hanuman road. We are installing ramps for the footpath, adding tactiles for VI, we are changing the width of footpaths to make them accessible for a person using a wheelchair. These are all government guidelines, we are making sure they are being implemented. It was a long journey. It took us 2 years to reach where we are today and to get the work started.

What the future holds: We are looking at accessibility, inclusive education, rehabilitation, and empowerment. These are our four core aspects. We are doing accessibility now. I will take a lead for rehabilitation. We may hire physios in the future. We are also planning for inclusive education for the differently-abled. Because physical disability may be present without the mental disability. Schools sometimes do not get that. Schools need to be accessible to these kids. If anyone wants to contribute in any way to our NGO click here. 

What do you like about being a neuro pediatric physiotherapist?

I know I can make a positive impact on my patient’s life. It is a truly noble profession. Also, every child I treat is different. Even the same child may not show similar symptoms every day. So every day is different than another and I like it that way. Another thing that I like that there is just so much to learn. I recently completed the online course on Behavioural therapy and it opened my eyes. 

As a neuro pediatric physiotherapist, what are the challenges you face?

As a clinic proprietor, I know I am responsible for anything that goes wrong in the clinic. I am accountable for everything that happens there, and I am answerable to the vision of my clinic. This definitely is a challenge that I did not face when I was working for an organization. But this motivates me and I like this kind of challenge. 

When we first decided to make the roads accessible for the differently-abled, it took us a lot of time and effort to navigate our purpose through the government authorities. Now that we are registered as an NGO, I hope things will be easier. 

What are the things you think can be improved in the field of neuro pediatric physiotherapy?

I see many students and even some physios relying heavily on using toys, or fancy equipment. I think our own two hands are good enough equipment and anything else that you get is a bonus. 

Another thing that I observed that many physiotherapists treat patients using a sequenced protocol. I think every child is different and deserves customized treatment tailored to his need. 

Can you name books that you found helpful?

Orthopedic management of CP – Eugene Bleck 

Physiotherapy in pediatrics – Roberta Shepherd

Motor control, translation research into clinical practice – Shumway cook 

What is next for you?

I want to grow my enterprise, my clinic. I am looking forward to doing more work through access to hope and collaborate with more people to make a positive impact.

What is your advice for someone who wants to become neuro pediatric physiotherapist

Decide what type of work you want to do, academics, clinics, or research. Once you have got that down then you can figure out how to approach it, whether by pursuing a master’s or working under the supervision of a more experienced physiotherapist. Get the clarity first. To get the clarity try different things. If you are okay doing work in your chosen field every day for the rest of your life, do it today. You should have fun doing your work. If your work doesn’t interest you now, try something else. 

Where can people reach you?

People can look me up on my FB pages for happy feet pediatric clinic and Access to hope.