There is an institute in Karachi's DHA Phase VII, which is working with the belief that miracles can and do happen. Run by a group of young and dynamic people, the Institute of Behavioral Psychology (IBP), established in 1987, is spreading education of a different type. The students here are all extraordinary. Each of them possesses the spark to become a great individual.

The institute is school to almost 350 students, who are all mentally challenged. Slow learners, they are being taught under the supervision of skilled educationists and psychologists.

The team at IBP comprises of more than 110 members, including psychologists, behavior therapists, educationists, mental health specialists, vocational teachers, teachers, speech therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, special educators and professionals for learning disorders.

IBP's main focus over the years is to develop independent and effective learning skills in children, who are slow learners, so they can become self-confident in undertaking new learning experiences.

There is this misconception among many people that children who are slow learners are also mentally-challenged or handicapped. This is not the case. These children may be intellectually slow but they, on the other hand, are mentally and rationally advanced than the handicapped. IBP has been pursuing to develop adequate intellectual proficiency and aptitude in them so that they can become a part of the conventional school system. In doing so they are given the time and space to develop their skills at their own pace.

The hard working members at IBP also undertake vocational training for these individuals so they can have a better future. It offers extensive vocational training in carpentry, secretarial skills, cooking, stitching and embroidery, fabric painting, block printing, envelope making, catering, laundry, sorting and packing, wood-polishing, computers, electronic repairs, book binding, candle making and house keeping. The institute itself has employed several former students as receptionists, sports teachers' aides and also in the cafeteria.

IBP also renders therapeutic services which include speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy. It boasts of multi-sensory sound labs comprising vibrating floors, luma sound lights, digital percussion equipment and other specialized computer programmes, which build and enhance communication and language skills. The speech therapy benefits children and individuals with speech or language delay, developmental disorders, neurological disorders, voice disorders, fluency problems, stammering, hearing impairments, auditory processing disorder and the ones having difficulty in oral motor coordination.

The department of occupational therapy upholds health wellness, productivity and quality of life promoted through teaching skills. The institute has also imported equipment designed to strengthen muscles and joints, reduce body alignment as well as develop vestibular integration.

Occupational training is focused towards people with physical disabilities resulting due to stroke, head injury, spinal developmental delay, intellectual disability, handwriting difficulties, autism, attention, behavioral problems and learning difficulties and also towards older patients with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Occupational training is done through walkers, positioning equipment, Swiss therapy balls, rehab mats, orthopaedic equipment, ambulation equipment and electro therapy equipment.

The institute's department of physiotherapy provides people the chance to reclaim their lives. Those who have faced work-related injuries such as lower back problems or repetitive stress injuries, individuals with limitations after a stroke or heart attack, arthritis or multiple sclerosis, birth injuries or developmental disabilities, burns, spinal cord injuries or amputations, injuries and trauma during accidents can gain benefit from physiotherapy sessions and live healthy life. The physiotherapy unit has modern equipment including gait trainers, walkers, positioning equipment, Swiss therapy balls, orthopaedic equipment, ambulation equipment and electro therapy equipment.

IBP also provides counselling and psychotherapy for individuals with emotional, behavioural, social, adaptive and educational problems. Children who show discipline problems, obsessive compulsive tendencies and aggressive or destructive behaviour, mental health problems, depression, schizophrenia and behavioural problems including substance abuse, eating and anxiety disorder are given counselling and psychotherapy. It also deals with children suffering from childhood fears, traumas, emotional disturbances and phobias. Such individuals are taught through an extensive behaviour management programme.

The extra curricular activities at IBP include sports, music and dance. Physical exercises are conducted at the start of each day for which IBP has a basketball court, tennis court, jogging track and other sports facilities. IBP is proud that two of its students — Aman Mirza and Talha Hameed — won gold medals in basketball for Pakistan at the Special Olympics were held in Ireland in 2003.

Apart from psychological help and therapies, the institute also implements religion as a part of its daily routine.

A non-profit organisation, the school also provides financial assistance to some 75 per cent of the students. They are open to all kinds of help in this area. Sponsoring a child includes paying his or her annual expenditure (tuition, vocational, transport, breakfast, lunch, uniform and stationery). One can also donate towards the trust fund in cash or kind. Besides, people are encouraged to employ skilled mentally handicapped individuals in an organisation or become a dedicated volunteer member themselves.