Vivek Sharma

Electrical Engineer

Dealing with Dyslexia

Their desire to learn is no less. It's just that not many are capable of teaching them. This is probably why many schools prefer detaining dyslexic students

in the same class on account of low marks or simply ask them to drop out. With many schools declaring the annual result these days, parents of many such dyslexic children are a worried lot. But all is not lost with many other options available for kids with learning difficulties (LD). Here's a look:

Multidisciplinary clinics

In these clinics (see the list), assessment and remedial sessions are undertaken for various learning difficulties. Special educators help slow learners in improving their memory, identifying alphabets or numbers and writing skills through audio-visual aids. "Parents should convince the school to get facilities for their child. But if the schools decline, kids should be given special education. Most hospitals have special educators,'' says Roma Kumar, psychologist, Ganga Ram Hospital.

Parents of dyslexic children can also approach Delhi Learning Disabilities Association (DLDA), a non-profit organisation run by doctors and psychologists, which provides remedial intervention, awareness and advocacy to children with special needs like LD, autism, aspergers syndrome, hearing impairment, auditory and visual perception disabilities, language delays and slow learning problems.

Geet Oberoi, founder of Orkids, an institute that deals with dyslexic children, says, "Very few schools are equipped to deal with LD. There may be varying levels of LD among students of same class but a teacher can hardly give personalized attention to the child.'' But one must realize that care should start early otherwise the gap would increase and it becomes difficult for the child to cope.

DLDA also provides training for NIOS curriculum for both secondary and senior secondary classes. Enrichment in language, including creative expression and vocabulary enhancement, is also offered as a part of remedial programme. DLDA also provides educational assessment.

Home tutoring

Some parents find consulting a special educator unaffordable for their high per-hour fees. Moreover, a hospital environment can be intimidating for the child. It also needs a lot of time from parents. In such cases, one-to-one home tutoring is a viable alternative, though the trend is yet to pick up.

"Special educators can be called at home to make the child comfortable. Home tutoring would also provide an opportunity to parents to know more about techniques used and also get frequent counselling,'' says Astha Bajaj, counsellor, DPS, Mathura Road.

Training of parents

Awareness among parents and training can be very helpful. "The number of special educators is low and thus the responsibility on schools is more. In such situation, awareness and sensitising the parents is important,'' said Bajaj.

According to Oberoi, "There are short-term courses for parents. These, apart from making them understand their child's needs, would also go a long way in making society sensitive. It will ease a lot of dependency on professionals.''

Initiative by parents

Special educator Bina Nangia says that parents haven't been able to come together to demand their children's right from the schools. "Parents of children with learning difficulties should come together to put pressure on schools. There is one such forum in Mumbai,'' Nangia says. Parents can also file a public interest litigation to make schools sensitive towards the special needs of children, Nangia added. No two dyslexic children are the same and parents should tie up with schools and experts to know about their learning styles.