Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

A lesson in perseverance

If your child is brooding and shying away from studies, help is at hand, experts in the field tell K. JESHI

LEARNING With love and patience PHOTO: SHAJU JOHN

In school, Sir Winston Churchill was regularly punished for poor work and lack of effort. He was independent and rebellious and failed to achieve much academically, failing in some courses numerous times.

Thomas Alva Edison was one of the greatest inventors of his time; but his formal schooling was limited. Albert Einstein did not talk until the age of three and was not fluent in his native language even by nine. All of them had one thing in common — Specific Learning Disability (SLD).

"We are missing out on such geniuses living amongst us by not identifying their problems," says V. Sukumar, consultant psychologist of Mnemonics Learning Disability and Memory Institute (Ph: 98945-88588).

Identify their strengths

When children with average or above average intelligence face problems in reading, writing, spelling, mathematics or organisational skills, they are considered as having learning disability. The severity can vary, though. "Their IQ levels are average or above average. The problem usually manifests itself when the child is in Class I,'' he adds.

But help is available. A multi-sensory learning approach involving auditory, visual and kinetic methods helps put such children back on track. "Catching them early is important. Some of the symptoms are speech delay, difficulty in writing the alphabet but able to read orally, consistent poor academic performance and difficulty in recalling sequence (for instance: Jan, Feb, March... ). At the same time, they are exceptionally good in other skills like drawing, music and games," he adds.

For instance, a 13-year-old student studying in class VIII ran away from his school hostel repeatedly because he hated studies. "But he is a district level champ in skating and hockey. During exams, he complains of dysentery and headache. He has problems with spellings and mathematics. But his IQ was normal and we have begun remedial treatment," says N. Lakshmanan, clinical psychologist at Maduhari Counselling Centre (Ph: 98420-06144)

The case history of such children is studied and then referred for IQ assessment tests and specific reading, writing, spelling and mathematical tests. Based on results, they are advised to take up a long-term remedial programme. Though there is awareness among parents, Sukumar says this problem is still `taboo'.

"Parents are not willing to accept this as a medical problem. Instead they put pressure on children to perform by sending them to tuition centres. Out of 250 patients, only 10 undertake the full remedial course. Affordability is another factor," he adds.

Role of teachers

What is encouraging is that awareness among parents and teachers has definitely increased lately. "Teachers are able to identify hyperactive behaviour and lack of concentration in children. Every day, I meet at least two children with such problems. Most parents expect immediate results and drop out of treatment in few months," says Lakshmanan, who conducts IQ assessment tests.

Sukumar also blames learning difficulties on a marks-oriented curriculum. "Poverty, a multi-lingual situation, crowded class rooms, inexperienced teachers, poor teacher-student ratio (70:1) and other factors like working couples and alcoholic fathers are contributing factors."

Purni Krishnakumar, consultant special educationist, (Ph: 99943-12002) who has been working with children with learning disabilities for more than 12 years, says that early assessment will help such children cope with regular studies. "Though there are standardised tools like the Binet-Kamat scale to assess intelligence levels, a curriculum-based informal assessment in a language they are comfortable with works better. There has to be awareness on provisions for students with learning disabilities like an additional hour for writing Class X and XII examinations and additional 30 minutes during practicals. Besides this, a Government Order also stipulates that they need not take up a second language."

As K. Selvaraj, consultant psychiatrist, puts it: "Identifying the problem early helps these children avoid problem areas. Like opting for science if maths is a problem. It also helps channel their knowledge into areas of interest." His Vazhikatti Mental Health Care and Research Centre (Ph: 4397671) has introduced a scientific assessment tool `path finder', to identify academic problem areas in a child.

Providing solutions

Purni talks of a student with `directionality problems' (in reaching a destination) who had to attend an interview. A compensatory mechanism helped him out. He was advised to take a dry run so that he could reach his destination on time.

Another student faced problems with vowels and vowel sounds, and some recollection techniques helped him tackle the problem.

"Basically, they are intelligent; so they can learn. If unnoticed, children with mild disorders manage to cope but turn into frustrated individuals. They suffer from guilt and are ashamed that they are not able to perform. This is a sort of brain drain where we will be losing out on intelligent children who can contribute to society. But empowering parents is vital," she adds.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail