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Quest
Thinking differently
Renu Malaviya, Lady Irwin College, New Delhi
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The important point is that every dyslexic child is unique. And most of them are talented, so a little encouragement and support will help them go a long way.
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Do you know of any child who appears to be intelligent, has a good general knowledge, may be is good in art or music, gets along with other children. Yet when it comes to reading and writing he/she makes mistakes and the copy is messy. His spellings are terrible. A `b' becomes a `d', `m' becomes `n'. `Nice' may be spelt as `mise', `knife' as `nive'. You, as a teacher or parent, teach him something new and it appears as if the child unstands you. Yet, within an hour, or the next day, he seems to have forgotten it all. Or, there may be a child who cannot even get basic arithmetic problems correct, yet if you ask him a problem orally he will give you the correct answer in quick time. These children have problems with either/or reading, writing and arithmetic. They probably have what is known as specific learning disability. In India, it is known as dyslexia.
The study of learning disabilities is a complex one, as every child who has this disability is unique. A dyslexic is a unique combination of often-unexplored talent, predisposition and environmental influences and unsuccessful learning experiences. Dyslexia is not a rare disability. Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Walt Disney, Benjamin Franklin, Prince Charles, Mozart, Tony Blair, Agatha Christie, and Bill Gates are known to be dyslexic. Statistics in the west and India show that about 10 per cent of the children in a regular classroom are dyslexic. Is it not alarming that in a school of say 4,000 children, at least 100 could be dyslexic? An estimated 30 million children are known to be dyslexic in India.
A dyslexic has special talents and if the talents are recognised, praised and encouraged, he will excel in his field of interest — not in spite of the fact that he/she is dyslexic but because he/she is dyslexic. The unusual connections in the brain of dyslexics make it difficult for them to read, write and do arithmetic. But they have special gifts, are musically inclined, creative, intuitive, artistic, have spatial skills, mechanical abilityMathematical conceptualisation skills and a vivid imagination. Despite the contribution a dyslexic child can make to society, he is often reduced to a wreck by the time he reaches adulthood. The reason for this is the extremely limited understanding about the problem among school teachers, administrators, teacher educators, educational policy makers, medical and paramedical personnel and of course the parents of the dyslexic child. Fortunately the mild form of dyslexia is more common than the severe one, and these children can and are being effectively accommodated in the regular classroom by teachers.
Some of the learning strategies that can be adopted for a dyslexic child in a regular classroom also benefit the non-dyslexic learner in the classroom. It also does not demand extra resources and time from the teacher or the parents. A close interaction between the family and the school is essential. The CBSE has recognised this problem and begun to make amendments in its examination rules. A dyslexic child is now allowed extra time during the examination, and can ask for third language exemption and also a script.
Society needs to be sensitised to this problem. Until then it may help the child if the parent and the teacher observe a little discretion. But the important fact is that the school and the family need to work in close association to get the best out of this child.
At home
* Parents may find it useful to be in touch with children who do well and also with the parents of these children.
* Parents and teachers should encourage the dyslexic child to work on the computer. These are fields they do well.
* Parents need to remember that hiding the problem may only keep help away from different quarters.
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