What therapy costs in Goa — and the gap no scheme covers

Government schemes get discussed often; what they actually cover against a real therapy bill gets discussed rarely. It's worth doing that math honestly before it becomes a surprise. A realistic mixed-care month — a government psychiatrist plus private speech and occupational therapy — commonly runs into five figures, not the amount a scheme's headline coverage might suggest on its own.

Set against that: for a family relying on a mix of government and private care, a commonly-cited monthly cost lands around ₹13,000–14,000, while the Dayanand Social Security Scheme's pension and Niramaya's therapy reimbursement together work out to roughly ₹4,000 a month of relief. The gap — the part that comes out of the family's own pocket — is real and substantial. This isn't a reason to skip applying for either scheme; every rupee of relief helps. It's a reason to plan for the rest rather than be blindsided by it.

Fully free, government-only care exists too — through GMC, IPHB, and District Early Intervention Centres — and it's genuinely worth using, especially early on. The tradeoff is usually time: longer waits, shorter sessions, and services that may not include every specialised therapy a child needs. Most families end up mixing free and paid care rather than choosing one entirely.