Raising The Bar

Pansare is one of the 19 parents whose children have enrolled for Samanvaya – a unique remedial centre for children with learning disabilities started by the Rajhans Vidyalaya,Andheri. The centre was inaugurated last Tuesday and will have three weekly sessions with the children,two on weekdays and one on weekends.

In its first weekend session on Saturday,excited chatter could be heard from the small room,bedecked with colourful charts and posters,where Samanvaya’s students were having fun while learning.

“Children with learning disabilities are not mentally challenged. They are normal in every sense of the term. Only their perception skills make it difficult for them to learn,grasp,memorise or retain knowledge. For example,some of these kids are interested in writing but aren’t able to execute the action due to which they are labelled lazy. Most of them are dreamers; they know what the object is but are unable to recollect its name. They lose track of time and can sit at one place without realising that hours may have passed. However,these are handicaps that can be improved upon with remedial teaching and that’s what Samanvaya proposes to do,” said Malar,herself a mother of a son with learning disabilities and also a teacher of Physics at the school. Malar is one of the people instrumental for proposing the centre.

Sessions in Samanvaya will be a blend of class-based exercises in addition to yoga sessions. “Yoga sessions have been known to infuse a degree of calm into children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). That coupled with perception exercises like jigsaw and crossword puzzles are aimed at improving the children’s learning capabilities,” said Malar.

The centre plans to introduce occupational therapy and play therapy soon.

Principal Deepshikha Srivastava said the initiative was planned as part of the school’s 25th anniversary celebrations. “The idea began forming in our minds when a couple of our students diagnosed with learning disabilities fared extremely well in board exams. One of the students secured 100 per cent marks in a subject and we realised that the time was right to start a special initiative for these children,as they do possess the potential,that if improved upon and channelised in the right way through inclusive learning,will yield surprising results.”