Addressing LEARNING DISABILITY IN CHILDREN in Class room situation

Psychologist with participants

Ms. Champa Jaiprakash, Clinical psychologist, illustrated several case studies of children with LD and narrated how they succeeded in life. From a genius of all times like Da’ Vinci to the greatest of scientists like Albert Einstein; from a statesman like Vincent Churchill to an actor like Ahishek Bachan over came and lived with LD. Studies reveal that at least 10% of the school population in India is known to be living with this disability.

Identification and addressing such children at an early age is the key for successful remedy. She quoted the example of the Hindi movie, "TAARE ZAMEEN PAR" that deals with a child with learning disability.  He suffers silently in the normal setup until one drawing teacher observes & identifies his learning disability. Through affection and proper training he successfully brings back the child to mainstream. This movie was an eye opener to the parents and the School fraternity of this country to understand the issue of learning disability and address it effectively. In fact experts in this field are getting more number of children with LD for remedies.

 Taking this classic example she addressed the teaching fraternity on how to identify such children at an early age & correct. They will diagnose the degree of learning anomaly & suggest suitable therapy. The session had detailed studies on the existence of learning disability in children, their different types with characteristic symptoms, the reasons behind it & finally the remedies which will rectify the problem.  She highlighted the importance of teachers who are regarded as the second parents to the children's, and therefore with proper training can be instrumental in bringing about the creative potential of a child catered with love & affection. For each child is born with a unique ability & all may not perfectly fit into the structured frame of the learning system. So each child has to be given the freedom to learn according to their abilities & Central board of Secondary education is addressing such special children without being left off from their peer groups.

 

A session on learning disability

She pinpointed that connecting these children with nature is also an integral part in correcting their disability. Bonding with nature will build confidence in expressing its feelings without any hesitation. She also cautioned on what might happen if such children are not addressed at an early stage. They may in course of time become self destructive and fall prey to bad elements of the society.

            It was a hot afternoon and a delicious meal could have put anybody to drowsiness, but once the session progressed it became one of the best experiences, the participants had in this workshop. The session made the participants sit up & take notice of the prevalence of such children in their schools. The lecture gave them the necessary inputs required to address Learning disability issues among their children & how to correct them at the elementary level. Ms. Champa Jaiprakash gave an insight on how the teachers can be change makers in the life of a child with learning disability. With proper guidance the relationship between the teachers and children may turn into a wonderful experience. She finished her talk by citing a relevant quote by Annette Funicello- “NOBODY HAS TO BE BORN PERFECT TO BE WONDERFULL".

-Harsha