The Hindu : New Delhi News : A small step to help special kids stand on their feet

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 13, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

A small step to help special kids stand on their feet

Mandira Nayar

An attempt to remove `dis' from children with disability and help them discover new way of learning

NEW DELHI: It's a tiny step that will give kids with disability a chance that they are usually never given -- to stand on their own feet. An attempt to remove "dis" from the tag that they have been forced to live with, a group of parents from Shri Ram School organised a film-making workshop recently to use the medium to find new definitions for their children.

Film-makers might have spent years trying to get the audiences to see their point of view through the lens, but for a bunch of kids it is a first time. Framing pictures of the world, they are discovering a whole new way of learning as well as communication and for a while getting other people to see life through their eyes.

`A pioneering work'

"This is pioneering work and we hope to be able to build on it. We have discovered that the workshop that started as an experiment does have an impact on the most reticent child. A child who has not been able to talk in front of the class is now able to defend the camera shots he has taken. I think the metamorphosis is not only with the kids, but also parents who don't define them in terms of academics. We are now hoping to run it as a six-month programme on Saturdays after school,'' states Head of Special Needs, Shri Ram School, Carol Roy.

Partnering with McCann Erikson and Centre for Advocacy and Research to provide the faculty, the kids will produce a film at the end of six months. Giving kids with special needs an option that they are usually denied, it will hopefully open new avenues for alternate careers. While the film workshop demonstrates the ability of kids with special needs to master new age technology and make a film, it is also about creating awareness about disability issues.

"I have been taking photographs at parties since I was a child. But this was a different experience. I got a chance to interact with children like Nemo who didn't study in my school and make good friends. I play the drums and I performed for the first time in front of the camera,'' said Pranay, who was part of the workshop.

Teaching new skills

Apart from teaching kids new skills, the workshop which began as an experiment with 10 kids, has also gone a long way in getting parents to realise the potential of their own children. A journey of discovery, parents and even teachers have found through the workshop different aspects to these children and better relationships.

"The workshop has helped us as a family. My son who is a child with special needs is not only different, but my daughter has also changed. She helps him more. The workshop may not make my child an editor or a camera-person, but it has made him happy,'' said a parent.

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