A class with a difference at St John’s

CHANDIGARH, JULY 7: Six-year-old Sonu appears no different from other children ... but he is different. He suffers from autism, a hard-to...

CHANDIGARH, JULY 7: Six-year-old Sonu appears no different from other children … but he is different. He suffers from autism, a hard-to-understand mental condition that locks him in a world of his own. Simmar is almost six and an epileptic. His condition is genetic. Neither of these children would have been welcome in a normal kindergarten and their exclusion from the society of other children their age would have surely complicated their problems and acted as a further obstacle to their ever leading anything like a normal life.

Fortunately, they are not going to be excluded. St John’s High School and Georgiane Singh are going to see to that. Drawing on her 15 years of experience of working with such children, Georgiane is creating a special section for these children, where they will be encouraged to follow normal activities as much as possible. A dream ever since she came to India has finally materialised. St John’s High School has appointed her its teacher for special needs and started a cell for handicapped children.

Named "Horizons" by Georgiane, the cell which begins from August 2, will focus on developing all the abilities of the children in her charge. A masters in Child Psychology, Georgiane stepped on Indian soil two and-a-half years ago. Earlier, she worked with similar children in the United States … "but definitely with the best of facilities and environment", she said.

To start with, Horizons will be able to handle five children in the five-to-eight years age group; two children have been admitted already. Of the five, the school will sponsor one child; otherwise the fee is Rs 1,000 per month.

"Getting in touch with parents of mentally handicapped children in the city has been difficult," says Georgiane. "I wish there was an easy way of letting people know that the Horizons programme is getting underway. I want to reach out to the parents of such children and assure them that their children have the right to live with dignity." she said.

One of the hardest tasks ahead of her is erasing the complex which many parents of such children suffer from: "These children may have lower IQ but they are still just normal children. The stigma must go." She plans to achieve this through counselling sessions, seminars and programmes involving parents.

The children at Horizons will be taught English, Maths, Music, Computers and will have access to the library too. The idea is to give them the same environment to study, an opportunity to play in the same playground, read in the same library as is available to the other children.

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The curriculum involves teaching alphabets and numbers to begin with. "These kids might take one week just to learn number 1, but I am ready to put in that effort. Learning is different when they learn in a healthy environment; it’s not like putting them in a school full of children with the same problems. They have the right to a wonderful education." Georgiane roped in local artist Satwant Singh to decorate the Horizon classroom. Painted bright yellow, the room has been marked for different sections: reading section, playing section, teaching section.

She plans to start a centre on the lines of existing ones in the US where these kids are taught how to cook, clean up and acquire some vocational training so that they can even manage to earn when they graduate.