Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Saraswathi Vidyalaya plans special school

What does Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison and actor Tom Cruise have in common?

Besides being successful they were all dyslexics, a neurological disorder that hinders the development of oral and written language skills of an individual.

However, with a right approach to education, the disorder cannot prevent one from climbing the ladder of success, as shown by Einstein and others.

This is precisely what `Pratheeksha,' a special school for children with dyslexia and other developmental disabilities, promises to offer.

The school, a brain child of actor Ravi Vallathol and his wife Geetha, is set up by Saraswathi Vidyalaya in Vattiyoorkkavu.

The non-residential school promises to offer programmes tailored to the specific requirements of children, which will help them to overcome their disability.

Individual attention

M.R. Sukumaran Nair, chairman of Ananthapuri Educational Society, which runs Saraswathi Vidyalaya, said here on Wednesday that the special school would have individualised educational programme and would focus on improving the social and communication skills of children.

"They [children] will be given individual attention by well-qualified and experienced educators.

The education will develop self-confidence and courage in children and help them to integrate into the mainstream," said Mr. Nair.

R. Geetha Lekshmy, co-ordinator of Pratheeksha, said the school would enlist the services of a multi-disciplinary team comprising a physiotherapist, medical practitioner, speech therapist and a social worker.

"The objective is early identification and assessment of individual needs," said Ms. Lekshmy.

Pratheeksha would have classes from I to V and would start functioning from June.

She said the school would also conduct special programmes to create awareness on learning disability among the general public. Seminars and workshop for teachers that would enable them for early detection and corrective measures would be organised on a regular basis.

The school would also look into the possibility of designing and implementing vocational training programmes appropriate for each child.

Research studies shows that around 10 per cent of the schoolchildren are affected by dyslexia.

The disorder is manifested as the inability to understand the significance of written words.

Dyslexic people get frustrated quite easily when they begin to read as the written material does not make any sense to them, she said.

This in turn will hinder their academic performance and development of social skills as a child.

Sangeeth Kurian

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