Welcome to the world of sound
SUMIT BHATTACHARJEE
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Love and patience are essential while working with special children says, Shanti.
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PHOTO: CH. VIJAYA BHASKAR
CONNECTING: Special children need love
Ramesh Varma who was born with over 85 per cent hearing deficiency was rudder less till the age of 14 years. He was without a clue about normal life and revolved around gestures and signs. In loneliness, he always pondered on how to live with the disability.
It was then that he met a special teacher who guided him to understand sounds and lead an everyday life. Today he is working as an animator in Mumbai and drawing a 20K plus salary packet a month.
Josheela Shanti was the teacher who introduced Ramesh to the world of sounds.
Actively involved
Trained at the Ali Yawar Jung National Institute for Hearing Handicapped, Mumbai, she has been actively involved in the education of special children for the last two decades.
She runs Sarada Speech and Language Centre at K.R.M. Colony, which she established a couple of years ago.
Specialised in early detection and intervention of the disability, she feels that early detection is crucial for correcting the problem. "If the disability is detected before three years than by five, the child can attend the customary school like any other normal one. But for that type of an outcome teamwork is important," she says.
When she talks of a team she means child-therapist-parents. "At the centre I work with the children for an hour or so and that's when I also invite the mother to be part of the training session, so that she can learn and implement the teaching procedures at home. This teamwork hastens up the rehabilitation process." Apart from using various teaching methods like project method, Montessori, auditory oral and auditory verbal therapy she points out that for effective communication with the children both the teacher and the parents should get down to their level.
"Love and patience are the two main ingredients that plays a vital role in correcting their short fall.
Play way method is another system that I adopt to train them. The environment should be stimulating to get the best out of them. I believe that only in the world of love can we unfold and grow," Shanti says.
Apart from training the children with hearing impairment and delayed speech she also trains children diagnosed with syndromes like ADHD, downs and autistic children.
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