What Can Be Done (2) - Bring out the strengths...

 6.Weakness Vs Strengths: It is very easy to make a list of weaknesses which the child has, but we need to focus on the bright side. What is the child good at? Singing? Dancing? Painting? Does he/she have a mechanical ability? Is the child creative? Once your child’s talents and strengths come to the fore, it will be easier to just think of what can be done with those talents, as opposed to worrying about his lack of writing skills or counting ability. These accomplishments will also help boost the child’s self image and self esteem.

 7.Change the methodology: It has been proven that they are intelligent children with lots of potential. We need to change the teaching methodology in order to utilize their potential to the maximum. The traditional methods of teaching and education are very inconsistent and at times, even barbaric, for such children. They lose interest very fast and become discouraged at the lack of results. Even with a high IQ, dyslexic children fail to cope up with the demands of a traditional classroom and testing system and fall further behind in the rat race. Studies have shown that dyslexic children use four times as much lactic acid in the sound processing portion of the brain as compared to normal children. This shows they have to exert four times the normal effort to read, as compared to normal reader. We need to go in for a remedial or alternate system of education, which employs the maximum use of colorful presentations, web chats, smart phones, computers, televisions, e-chats etc. These technology-aided methods are sorely needed to make the process of education easier and interesting for dyslexic children. 

 8.Create a support group or system: Support systems have been around for a long time. They should not be viewed in the negative sense. The family which has a dyslexic child should try and create a group of close friends and families from their immediate neighborhood or similar social circles and inform and educate them about dyslexia. But before doing this, the sensitivity level of the individuals participating in the social group must be evaluated. An insensitive person or someone with misguided zeal may do more harm than good. Other than support, these groups also offer a close bonding ground for the children, whose social skills are already rusty. The group contributes towards the social, moral and all-round upbringing of the child and therefore, is a valuable asset.

 9. The child should not be left behind in terms of knowledge and information:

The main consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge of the child – that should not happen. With all the other sources and methods, we need to ensure that part. They might just surprise you with their grasping powers and ingenuity.

 10. Support

·         Sensitive society &school

·         Understands the child

·         Proper guidance

·         Protects child’s self –esteem

·         Opportunity should be equal

·         Right to be in normal schools/Remedial education

·         Treatment or Therapies

Two innocent questions...

A little six year old girl looks up to her mother and asks,”Ma! When will I be writing like my friends? All of us started writing at the same time. They’re writing and drawing so nicely, why does my writing look like this? Am I stupid?”

A touching question by a little girl, who is troubled by the fact that her handwriting is indecipherable to others. If it’s just a question of bad handwriting, why am I going forth with this blog? What is my objective? There are two very powerful reasons behind my writing this blog and trying to get it across to millions of readers out there. One, to try and answer the queries of parents and teachers of children who have been struggling with learning difficulties for a long time, and two, to let these children, who have been called ‘stupid’ and ‘slow’ all their lives, know that they are not!

Some children are extremely different from their peers. Some might be slow to grasp concepts, some might have trouble with their motor coordination, some might struggle to speak ordinary sounding words, some simply have trouble looking at an object and understanding its significance. These kids are usually put into brackets like “slow”, “stupid”, ”not motivated”, ”mentally retarded”,”hyperactive”, ”destructive” and so on. These are the kids you usually find in the last row of the classroom, laboring over the classwork, struggling to understand the teacher’s rapid teaching and grappling with their homework at home.

The little girl, mentioned earlier, watches a science show on TV with intense concentration. After it’s over, she asks her mother,” I have understood that the earth moves around the sun and the moon moves around the earth. If, for some reason, the earth falls down, what will happen to the moon?” The mother is nonplussed and starts thinking. Without giving her time to ponder upon the first question, the little girl now asks,”Ma, why do we need a rocket to launch a satellite in space? Why can’t an aeroplane do the same job?” Mentally retarded? Stupid? Slow to understand? I think not. On the contrary, the girl is displaying a serious knack for science and scientific thinking. This little girl, with her sunny smile, extensive vocabulary and a charming disposition wins hearts everywhere she goes. 

But let me tell you she is also dyslexic.