Mr. Srikanth Meenakshi is a founder-director of Wealth India Financial Services, a company based out of Chennai, India. The company’s online platform is www.fundsindia.com.
While working abroad Srikanth has worked with firms like Fannie Mae. He has gained a rich experience before starting his venture in India. It was a decision which has delivered good returns to him. We all know about his company and many of us would be using Funds India. Certainly most of us love this platform now. But few of us would not know the reason behind his decision. He is a proud parent of Vidya, a special needs child. For her he took a decision to return to India and start this venture.
What he says about a parenting a special needs child?
We spoke to him about parenting a special needs child and this is what he has to say –
- What fears do you have as a special needs parent, and how do you address them?
The principle worry that we carry with us every day is what would happen to the child after us. This is true, I am sure, for most parents of special needs children. My daughter Vidya is not functionally capable of taking care of herself except for the most basic things. How will she be cared for, who will run a household etc. are the main concerns for us. The need to setup an infrastructure (physical, financial, human help system) for after us keeps us worried.
- Is the concern of child care after you addressed?
Not entirely. We are working towards it. We need to set her up financially as well as with appropriate legal and other support structures. We are working towards it.
- How difficult is it to find a suitable guardian for your child?
Right now, we have an elder in the family that helps us out, but it’s very difficult outside of that. Both of us (parents) alternate the role of guardian for the most part. The challenge with finding a suitable guardian is finding someone who can be trusted and who can provide care with love and empathy.
- What in your opinion is the most important thing to know about how a child with special needs affects family dynamics?
Well, the important thing to know about this is that the effect of such a child on the family is total and complete. There is not a single aspect of a family’s dynamics that go untouched. The professions of the parents, their day to day lives, the lives of siblings, how they interact with society, family etc, – everything undergoes a dramatic and permanent change upon the advent of a special needs child in the family. People – friends and family – need to realize that they cannot take any aspect of such a family for granted and assume that it is not affected. Of course, the parents and the family would have worked with and around any and all such situations to minimize the impact the best they can.
- Have you analysed your preparedness for your special needs child future along with your retirement? If not what has been the reason for delay?
Yes, I have and I am working towards creating a corpus not just for my retirement, but for her life time as well. Essentially, I am seeking to build a corpus that will last two life times – ours (parents’) and hers.