"Honey, this is not the correct page...

The school’s role in assisting with dyslexia: The school is one of the first places where it can be ascertained/ diagnosed that the child might have dyslexia, because it has to do with reading and writing. Therefore, the school also has a huge responsibility to ensure that the child receives a different educational treatment and not blindly follow the conventional system.

If, due to some reason, the school fails to identify the problem, two major difficulties will arise:-

1.    The benefits of early identification will not be accessible.

2.    The child’s fragile ego and self esteem will be shot, as he/she will be subjected to the taunts and jeers of his/her classmates and sometimes, the teachers. This will damage his/her self image permanently.

A healthy, caring, supportive attitude and environment is an extremely integral part of nourishing and nurturing a dyslexic child. But in a country like ours, where even basic problems are swept under the rug, dyslexia is hardly acknowledged. Many children in India with physical and mental handicaps never attend school, just because the school is not adequately equipped to deal with their problems. The children miss out on school and friends solely due to the inability of the schools to tweak their system a little, to accommodate such children. Despite being bright, their unconventional difficulty renders them useless in the traditional schooling system and they are deprived of their fundamental right to education.

The recently amended Right to Education Act 2009 decrees that every child, irrespective of the state of mental or physical health, must have equal access to quality education - this should be adapted to meet the needs of special children, who require a different approach. This Act will ensure that differently abled children are not discriminated against, and they will slowly gain acceptance in society. Special considerations are routinely made for dyslexic children in board exams. Depending on the severity of the problem, the following concessions have been made:

• ·         They will get an extra fifteen minutes per hour to answer their paper.
• ·      If the problem is with language, they will be exempted from that subject.
• ·         They can use calculators for maths exam.
• ·         Marks will not be deducted for poor spelling.
• ·         Readers/writers will be provided on request.

This is the scenario with the 'Board' exams, which is okay. But what about the children who attend kindergarten? Or the first and second grades? The ages between five and eight are crucial in building both mental acuity and confidence levels in the child. So, what can be done?

·         A shadow teacher/ sensitive teacher at school should accompany the child to the class and make sure that nobody bullies the child. He/she should also work towards making the child self-reliant and self-sufficient in class. Schooling is important, but not at the cost of the child’s self-esteem. Once it is broken, it is extremely difficult to build it again.

·         Teachers should be made aware of the difficulty and should be competent enough to identify the child and refer him/her to the right place. A compassionate and caring teacher can do wonders with such children.

·        The teacher should support the child in class. If the teacher asks the class to open a particular book at a particular page, the teacher should make sure that the child is following the instruction, whether he has to repeat or go slow, because as we know understanding multiple  instructions is difficult for the dyslexic child. For instance: if the teacher asks everyone to open page 63, the dyslexic child might open page 36. They also struggle to find the paragraph or line which is being taught in the class. In this confusion, much of what the teacher is teaching will not be understood by the child. Simple politeness is needed here. A gentle tap on the shoulder, followed by a smile and a line,”Honey, this is not the correct page. This is the correct one.” Just that and the child is ready to participate in the class. Profoundly simple in theory, but hardly anyone practices it in real life. This is a sad situation.

• ·      The parents should immediately be informed about the child’s difficulty.
• ·      There should be special educators in every school.
• ·      Child Development Paediatrics should visit the school periodically.