Learning Disabilities

Childhood - Learning Disabilities

“Learning disabilities can range from confusing similar looking alphabets to lust being ‘slow learners’. Depending on the child’s condition, we have to structure a program that caters to their individual requirements. That can mean facilitating learning through alternative means such as sensory stimulation. In this case, we may use sandpaper cutouts of the alphabets for the children to trace with their fingers and thus learn. Or we may use a computer if they find it easier to type rather than write.

 

Sometimes, they also find it easier to recognize the letters on the screen”, says Meera Ravichander, Principal of Asha Centre for Developmental Disabilities in the city. “It is sometimes more difficult to deal with the parents than the child. Most don’t want to accept their child’s condition. As a result, the therapists and parents are at loggerheads. In the process, the child suffers and feels guilty. Early intervention is vital and is usually achieved through counseling the parents, which can involve a number of sittings”, she adds. Though this center usually caters to children with some amount of mental retardation in addition to learning disabilities, Mrs. Ravichander works as a counselor arid therapist for children with learning disabilities in mainstream schools as well.

 

“Learning disabilities can be either in one area or global involving several areas of difficulty. Some examples are difficulty in reading, writing, mathematics, visuo-moto coordination and difficulties in expression and articulation. We use standardized scales and equipment to access the extent of the learning disability. If it not very severe we recommend special education. Remediation if it is very severe. If the child is in a higher class, then we suggest ‘open school’. That could mean c learning periods, fewer children per classroom, grant language exemption and extra time during examinations. These institutions can also be mainstream schools that allow certain special provisions in consultation with the central school board under which the school is.

 

Nothing absolute, but today there is a lot of hope. There are plenty of resources that are available. Several centers in the city are dedicated to this”, says Kirthi Rao, Child Counselor, St. John’s Medical College Hospital, Bangalore.

 

Learning disabilities don’t have to be the end of the world. A child is beautiful in so many ways. It’s important, as a parent and as an educator, to focus on the positives in a child. Several children heaving under learning disabilities have exceptional creative capabilities. Identifying and harnessing these individual strengths is of immense advantage.

 

Its also earth-shatteringly important for parents to accept their child’s condition at the earliest, in order to facilitate timely and crucial intervention that could benefit them. Shrugging off denial and getting the child the help they need gives them a greater chance of a productive future.

 

Today, there are plenty of facilities available to help a child and a parent through the turbulence of a learning disability. They ease acceptance while tackling the condition. Parent support groups bring those in similar situations together. They serve as a source of comfort because it’s assuring to know there are others out there facing the same circumstances. And finally, love your child for what they are. It’s a cruel world out there. The conviction that their parent loves them unconditionally despite their flaws will always be there to provide a safe haven for them and make a child a far more confident person to take on all that comes his way.