A home to grow up in
S.S. KAVITHA
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This school for special children moulds and brings the best out of children with mild to severe retardation.
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Photo: K. Ganesan
HONING SKILLS: A class much waited for.
Five years ago, S. Kayambu, now a 13-year-old boy, was more like wet clay waiting for better hands to mould him. Braving all odds, his mother, Naganandini, made her way daily from Alagappan Nagar to Ellis Nagar to the YMCA Special School for the Mentally Challenged.
Now, Kayambu, an autistic child with mental retardation, is able to speak and write.
"Kayambu could neither speak nor write when he joined school. Now he can, with support from his mother and blessings of the Almighty," says A. Anbuselvi, headmistress.
There are more such stories, one being that of V. Azhahumalai from a village near Sholavandan. Azhahumalai's mother, V. Anandi, was not sure of what should be done for her son till she began to use the services of YMCA. "My life revolves round my mentally retarded child. But for YMCA, I don't know what I would have done."
The YMCA's Service Centre for the Hearing Impaired, which was established in 1971, witnessed an increase in the number of multiple handicapped children who were afflicted with mental retardation, cerebral palsy and autism. Following which, in 2000, YMCA started a school for special children. The school now has two sections for mild categories and one section for moderate categories, and another for severe autistic and mentally retarded children.
The aim of the school is to provide opportunities for the mentally challenged children to develop their daily living skills, get basic education, and enable them to develop their capabilities through the special school, besides getting integrated into their family and the rest of society, says J. Shamila Doris, secretary.
She says that the school has many programmes and activities, which include creating awareness among people through door-to-door survey, distributing handbills and conducting counselling and seminar sessions. The school divides daily activity into six sessions: academics, daily living skills, activity learning, physiotherapy and games. Besides, the school organises outings to near-by places for both parents and children.
Facilities
The school also provides hostel facility for mild and moderate category children, who will be looked after by two caretakers. The school functions with five special educators and four caretakers.
"It is very hard to find caretakers because it is a demanding job. We need committed people, who are not greedy for money. We cannot also pay much as we depend entirely on donations," says Rev.S. Suyambu, correspondent of the project.
Though the school was started to help busy working parents from poor backgrounds, the school collects Rs.50 to Rs.100 depending upon the paying capacity of the parents. For the very poor, the school provides free education, food and accommodation, says Shamila Doris.
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