Earlier this month, on 20 October 2024, the Madras Dyslexia Affiliation (MDA) — a Chennai-based non-profit based by mother and father of youngsters with dyslexia — organised a ‘Dyslexia Consciousness Stroll’ from Besant Nagar seashore. This occasion was considered one of many to mark ‘Dyslexia Consciousness Month’ celebrated worldwide each October to boost consciousness amongst locals, mother and father, and faculties in regards to the individuals who have it.
Talking in regards to the occasion, D Chandrasekhar, the founding father of MDA, an alumnus of IIT-Madras and first technology entrepreneur, stated, “These occasions are important first steps in direction of enabling a ‘Dyslexia delicate society’. They permit mother and father, faculties and lecturers to determine and settle for this neurological situation paving the best way to facilitate remedial classes for youngsters with dyslexia to study coping methods utilizing multi-sensory strategies. This ensures that the people with dyslexia lead a productive life as an alternative of slipping by way of the cracks.”
MDA was based in 1992 when a gaggle of fogeys of youngsters with dyslexia, educationists empathetic to the trigger, and philanthropists got here collectively to actively assist youngsters handle this situation and lift consciousness about it to most of the people.
The organisation was based to take a realistic strategy to assist youngsters with dyslexia. For the previous three a long time, it has been offering remedial assist and help to youngsters with dyslexia and their mother and father by way of the Ananya Studying and Analysis Centre (ALRC). They’ve additionally been actively working in direction of spreading consciousness to the group at massive, serving to faculties arrange useful resource rooms and conducting trainer coaching programmes.
Understanding dyslexia
In line with MDA, “Since dyslexia is a hidden [learning] incapacity that doesn’t permit the kid to carry out to his/her precise potential, the underachievement of an in any other case clever baby is puzzling to each lecturers and oldsters alike. Well timed identification and acceptable assistance will make sure that these youngsters proceed their training and their potential is totally tapped.”
Youngsters with dyslexia might face challenges of their educational pursuits (particularly of their school-going years) as a consequence of difficulties in studying, spelling, writing and or maths, regardless of their common to above common intelligence. Most frequently, mother and father, lecturers and friends deal with these areas of deficits ignoring the skills these people may very well be bestowed with.
Pradeep Thangappan, a dyslexic, entrepreneur and co-founder of Aerostrovilos Vitality Pvt. Ltd — a startup aiming at manufacturing micro fuel generators for power-based functions — recalled:
“Once I was in center faculty [about 20 years ago], my father learn an article in The Hindu about dyslexia. It was actually describing me. I did have an issue with maths and English, the reversing [of the letters] ‘B’ and ‘D’, and confusion between left and proper [directions]. After studying the article, he wished to get me examined [for dyslexia]. On the time, there was hardly any consciousness. [But] A minimum of now, my wrestle had a reputation.”
For Pradeep, dyslexia brings lots of energy and weak spot. “To this present day, I do have an issue with studying. I don’t assume I can sit down after which learn a ebook. I’ve by no means learn a novel or a ebook so far as a result of it’s tough for me. I do make spelling errors even at the moment. However I perceive how issues work. On a really course of stage, I can decipher how an engineering element would work. My strengths lie in determining area of interest issues the place persons are not capable of finding an answer conventionally. I can have a look at an issue and provides it options in a approach that no one else can,” he stated.
Pradeep was a part of the primary batch of ALRC, “a full-time pull-out remediation centre for youngsters with Particular Studying Difficulties,” in accordance with the MDA web site.
“Remedial intervention is [usually] provided for youngsters between the ages of 6 and 12, the place the kid is pulled out of the mainstream faculty and given a remedial programme based mostly on a multi-sensory strategy. This programme is obtainable to the kid after an evaluation of his/her strengths and wishes utilizing international standardised evaluation instruments. The remediation programme is obtainable for a interval of 1 12 months on the minimal to 2 years on the most, relying on the depth of the remediation required, after which the kid is mainstreamed again to the common faculty,” the web site additional notes.
Origins of MDA
Dr Chandrasekhar recollects attending a dyslexia remediation coaching programme in 1992 together with his spouse to assist his dyslexic son. After the coaching programme, the contributors met for dinner.
Talking to The Higher India, Chandrasekhar recollects, “The coach who had come from England, Hazel Mckay, advised that so as to undertake some severe motion, it will be higher to type an affiliation and work collectively. Initially, the affiliation had a gaggle of trainees together with a couple of mother and father and particular educators. Since I used to be personally concerned in some social actions at the moment, I volunteered for this good trigger. All of us acquired collectively and determined to type the MDA, and I used to be chosen to be the secretary of the affiliation.”
“My private motivation for establishing MDA was the chance to fulfill professionals who might assist my son. Initially, the MDA encountered lots of issues. Firstly, there was an absence of readability about what dyslexia is. Many mother and father have been in denial that their youngsters might have dyslexia. There was a lack of expertise within the public,” he shares.
“Many thought that we have been supporting ‘dumb’ youngsters. However we’d overcome these challenges over time by way of our relentless consciousness programmes, reaching out to the mother and father, faculties and most of the people by way of the media, whereas additionally actively offering particular help to dyslexic youngsters,” he provides.
What does MDA do?
Initially, MDA began with coaching lecturers to assist youngsters with dyslexia.
Talking to The Higher India, D Chandrasekhar says, “After a few years, we opened a remediation centre, each part-time and full-time, for youngsters and likewise acquired a couple of of our particular educators skilled to hold out assessments. We adopted many strategies from the United States and the UK, however over time, we realised that we wanted to switch this programme to go well with Indian youngsters. Accordingly, our lecturers employed lots of innovation in changing these practices to go well with our situations. We have now completed lots of developments in remediating by way of a number of sensory strategies utilizing verbal, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile strategies.”
At the moment, MDA runs the full-time remediation centre for severely affected dyslexic youngsters. They help 30 youngsters at their centre apart from offering part-time remediation to 50 youngsters.
“We practice the lecturers on tips on how to determine these youngsters utilizing a guidelines. We additionally practice the lecturers tips on how to use multi-sensory strategies and remediate the youngsters from their issues in studying, writing, spelling, maths, and govt capabilities. We practice the trainee lecturers to indicate lots of empathy and understanding to the youngsters with dyslexia,” he says.
For lecturers, MDA runs an e-shikshanam programme that’s primarily a free even-week on-line course that helps major faculty lecturers help youngsters with gentle to average dyslexia. In addition they run a six-week Intensive Trainer Coaching Programme that helps lecturers determine and help youngsters with completely different ranges of dyslexia.
In the meantime, remediation classes for youngsters are completed by way of the ALRC. This consists of an Particular person Schooling Program (IEP), which in accordance with the MDA web site, “is drawn out for the kid based mostly on his/her strengths and wishes.” The IEP consists of “talent constructing, need-based and exercise oriented studying”. Furthermore, the ALRC additionally focuses on the ‘holistic growth of the kid’ with the intention to nurture their abilities and pursuits — together with co-curricular actions like yoga, music, dramatics, arts and crafts, and video games, apart from one thing known as Hydra.
In line with the web site, “Hydra is likely one of the arms of MDA focussed on nurturing the pure potential of youngsters. The staff at Hydra consists of skilled lecturers and psychological well being professionals and works in technical partnership with Vidya Sagar [a Chennai-based non-profit empowering people with disabilities]. The setting at Hydra is caring and non-threatening. This encourages the youngsters to let go of any stress and emotions of low self-worth that usually accompany the situation of dyslexia. It helps them really feel accepted for who they’re.”
MDA additionally engages in Occupational Remedy, a key element of remediation. This focuses “on serving to youngsters with bodily capacity, sensory integration, consideration, and focus issue to boost their abilities together with shallowness and efficiency within the classroom.”
Lastly, you’ve gotten counselling, the place the ALRC companions with certified professionals to offer counselling for youngsters and oldsters as a part of the character growth of the kid. “There may be an in-house counsellor who interacts with the kid and the father or mother and likewise conducts periodic workshops for them. The lecturers are additionally given orientation on baby behaviour to assist them deal with completely different behavioural points within the classroom,” the web site provides.
Outcomes
Talking to The Higher India, Chandrasekhar says, “One of many main misconceptions that individuals have about dyslexic youngsters is that they aren’t clever. Truly, they’re very clever with an IQ of greater than 85. It is vitally simple to work with them as soon as we take the fitting strategy. MDA has eliminated the misconceptions by demonstrating the remedial programmes.”
Over three a long time, Chandrasekhar claims that MDA has straight assisted greater than 1,500 youngsters of their full-time remediation centre, and supplied part-time remediation for 3,000 youngsters. “We have now skilled greater than 2,000 lecturers and performed coaching programmes in over 400 faculties. We have now additionally arrange useful resource rooms for dyslexic youngsters in almost 200 faculties that profit 10,000 of them 12 months on 12 months,” provides Chandrasekhar.
How far has our training system are available helping youngsters with dyslexia?
In line with Chandrasekhar, “The training system has proven lots of understanding in direction of the wants of dyslexic youngsters. A variety of concessions are provided throughout public exams. Dyslexic youngsters are eligible for all the advantages beneath the Disabilities Act. But, we have now an extended technique to go. Consciousness in faculties remains to be very low, particularly amongst lecturers. Whereas personal faculties simply perceive the issues related to dyslexia, it’s nonetheless not a precedence in authorities faculties.”
(Edited by Pranita Bhat; Photographs courtesy D Chandrasekhar)
