"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.

Ma... How should I change my writing?

5. Work hard on building the child’s self –esteem:     

  

   We have seen that quite a few people have overcome their difficulties and made it big in life. The difference is, if the child feels good about himself/herself, the child will definitely succeed in life. If s/he feels inferior, s/he will fail. The self image of a child has an important role in this which makes him/her self confident.

Strong Ego ----> Positive Self Image ----> Confidence ----> Self- esteem ----> Perform better

Dyslexic leaders around the world have something to say about confidence and self esteem.

•   "Reading is just one way of communicating—and in the future, I think it won't be as important as in the past."
•   "I frankly think dyslexia is a gift. If you are supported in school and your ego remains intact, then you emerge with a strong work ethic and a different view of the world.” -Dr. Cosgrove.

Yes, all of the above will happen if the ego remains intact. The “if” is important here. Sigmund Freud’s theory said - the id, ego and superego are functions of the mind. According to this model of the psyche, id is the set of uncoordinated instinctual trends; the super-ego plays the critical and moralizing role; and the ego is the organized, realistic part of the mind and affects the individual personality.

If somebody’s ego is targeted, for the most part, it affects him/her negatively. It also puts a downward spin on his/her self-image, which consequently leads to a low confidence level and self-esteem. Children start thinking that they’re good for nothing, and that their presence in society is a burden. This line of thinking is extremely dangerous, both for the child and for the parents, and can lead to disastrous consequences, if not checked in time.

A simple example will help you understand. A six year old girl comes home in tears. When asked by her mother, she says, “Ma, my best friend showed my writing book to the entire class today and they laughed at me. When the ma’am came, I asked her to help. But she took one look at the book and laughed with the rest of the class and told me that I had the worst handwriting in the whole class. How should I change my writing?” 

What a terrible thing to happen to a little dyslexic girl? Beautiful penmanship is not in the child’s hands. She simply cannot do it. But our education system gauges a child’s ability to learn by the amount of work he/she writes down. This is next to impossible for a dyslexic child. How one wishes that the system had some alternative methods for assessing such children’s acuities! The educators themselves need to be educated with regard to this matter, otherwise it will definitely prove to be detrimental to the child’s mental health.

Furthermore, we need to teach our dyslexic children how to handle critical situations and not allow anybody to attack their ego.   He/she should be trained like a soldier and prepared to tackle any social situation that might arise out of sheer ignorance. Their defences should be well polished and ready for “attack” as and when required. That is not to say we teach them to be rude to others. We’re simply trying to empower the children to protect their fragile ego and defend themselves.

For instance, if someone says to a dyslexic child,” Oh, your writing is so bad. No one can read it.” The child can reply, ”Yes, that’s true, but my presentations and oral skills are excellent and no one can beat me in them.”

Despite all the precautions we take, the child may go back to point zero and start harboring negative thoughts and feelings, the result of his/her daily interactions with people and situations. As a parent, you should understand that the child will feel bitter, lost, sad, angry and worthless, but if you handle him/her with love, acceptance and warmth, the child will surely come out of his depression and try again. Your only tools are your love, support and encouragement. Go all out and envelop the child in your safety blanket, but also make him/her strong from within. 

My alphabets have become very naughty...

Here are some common symptoms of dyslexia:

“My alphabets have become very naughty. They are flying all around. My “c” becomes a rabbit hiding in the bushes, “a” is standing upside down, and “t” has become a cloud hanging in the sky.” 

Just think about what goes on in the mind of a little child who has been asked to write sentences, but all she sees are dancing and hopping alphabets.

• The child is unwilling to go to school and has constant difficulties in keeping up with the class.
• The child may be too quiet or he/she will act up to either distract the teacher or get attention from other children.
• There is a marked discrepancy between the child’s apparent intelligence and his/her achievement in reading and spelling.
• Difficulties with spelling, visual tracking and confusion between left and right.
• Difficulties in copying from the board, following simple instructions and reading and comprehension.
• Trouble with organizing and writing thoughts and ideas.
• Difficulties in multi-instructions & multi-tasking.
• Poor grammar, handwriting and weak memory.
• Difficulty in verbalizing short or long words, weak vocabulary (at least initially) and delayed spoken language.
• Possible difficulty with mathematics (though not necessarily)
• Additional diagnosis of ADD/ADHD in some cases.