We are constantly surrounded by a vast number of stimulants from the sounds in crowded streets to the constant ticking of a clock. All this is easy for most people to tune out but for a certain 20% of the world’s population, this is not possible. Overstimulated by these they find it strenuous to navigate through daily tasks.
This group of people perceive daily activities a little differently and face delays in development. Those who face such challenges are put under the umbrella term of ‘neurodiverse’.
Daffodil Health is on a mission to provide help and guide neurodiverse children and their parents in this world built for neurotypicals.
This pediatric behavioural healthcare platform focuses on developmental conditions such as autism, dyslexia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, etc. for children from the ages of 0-6.
The platform provides a questionnaire for such parents who notice their child having difficulties in development. Reviewing their responses, a free online consultation is held to address the issues and figure out an ideal program for the child.
The team at Daffodil Health— which consists of speech therapists, behavioural therapists, occupational therapists and a special educator—varies the support and assistance they provide for each child according to their abilities and needs.
They come up with personalized daily activities and tests that last up to 10 minutes focusing on stimulating the child to proceed to the next step in the process.
To go the extra mile, Daffodil Health has added another element to their approach. With a strong belief that conducting sessions and activities at home will help accelerate the child’s progress, the team trains parents to attend to the child’s needs and act as therapists at home.
They are also hoping to tackle another issue with this method of approach. “There is a huge gap in the country’s supply-demand of behavioural and speech therapists. This problem can be solved if we educate and help the parents to become therapists for their child,” Daffodil Health founder and CEO, Amal Kiran told Entrackr.
To assist the parents in their journey as a therapist for their child, the platform provides access to a Parents App. Including activities, test items and a homegrown brain development tracker, this app acts as a support to the parents in helping their child.
Funding, growth, and competition
With the idea of providing real-time support, multi-modal therapy, and educating parents, ex-Practo Kiran and ex-Medpiper Anupam Rana founded the company in 2021.
The company currently has over 3000 users and plans to expand this number to 5000 in the next 12 months.
It had an angel round in October 2021 and currently has total funding of over Rs 20 lakh.
Daffodil Health is in the Childhood Mental Disorder sector, valued at $246 billion in the US. The main competitors in the Indian market are individual therapists, Child Development Centers, and National Institutes such as the National Institute of Speech and Hearing.
Designed to be operating completely online proved to be a benefit for the startup during the time of the pandemic. As the country is coming out of the setback and easing COVID-related restrictions, the company is following.
Moving out of its online-only business strategy, the company plans on piloting its solutions with business-to-business partners to make the platform available offline as well.
