The learning disability cases among children are going vastly underreported in the city, courtesy the implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, which mandates that students between Std I and VIII will not be failed.
If Aamir Khan's 2007 blockbuster helped create awareness among parents to take their wards to the dyslexia centres, the Act implemented last April has apparently "discouraged" them.
According to the records of King Edward VII Memorial (KEM) Hospital, earlier around 200 children used to be referred for assessment every month, but now only 40 dyslexic children are being referred a drop by 80 per cent.
The figures have the city pediatricians, counsellors and even principals at their wits' end.
Lax approach
The pediatricians and counsellors say that parents earlier used to bring their wards for testing their learning disability at the centres, but that is a thing of the past now.
Dr Sunil Karande, in-charge of the Learning Disability Clinic at KEM Hospital, said, "Earlier, about 200 children used to be referred by the schools for assessment every month, but now they send around 40 children to this learning disability centre.
Either the school authorities are not referring children for assessment or the parents are deliberately not bringing them to the centre as the RTE Act guarantees their wards won't flunk.
By doing this, they are only postponing addressing their child's problem. Once a child with learning disability comes to Std IX he/she will have to get assessed and diagnosed.
Without the provisions/accommodations, these kids may not be able to cope with the school curriculum.
Promotion from standard VIII to IX would become very difficult in view of the poor school performance of a child with learning disability. Also by this time, the crucial period for remedial education will be lost."
So what is the solution to this problem? "Probably, an amendment in the Right to Education Act," said Dr Kulkarni. "It should be made mandatory that every child with poor school performance gets assessed on time.
Mandatory school promotion up to Std VIII should also continue provided a child with poor school performance gets assessed simultaneously," he added.
Dr Sanjay Oak, the dean of KEM Hospital, said, "If parents are doing such a thing it is like cheating with your own child.
The earlier they are detected and brought to such centers the better it is for their ward. It is my appeal to the parents that they should not play with their child's future."
Meena Shiledar, counseling psychologist, said, "It's true that the numbers (of dyslexia cases) are coming down. It is important for a child to test early.
If a child is diagnosed with learning disability, we can start his treatment at the earliest and help him overcome it."
Arundhati Chavan, the president of Parent Teacher Association United Forum, said, "I agree with the observation of the KEM hospital authorities.
The ignorant attitude of parents may cost their children dear in the future. Parents should not take it lightly and get their wards assessed at a right age and stage.
Even schools must have withdrawn the special educators after the RTE came in force."
Raj Aloni, the principal of Ramsheth Thakur Public School, Kharghar, said, "It is true that there is an emerging trend of ignorance observed amongst parents regarding learning disability.
We need to create more awareness among parents and also the provision of testing children for LD should be made available for vernacular medium also."
The Other Side
Rejecting the KEM authorities' claim, Maharashtra Dyslexia Association president Kate Currawalla said, "I don't agree with those who are claiming that the learning disability cases are going vastly underreported."
How to overcome the disability
A child with learning disability (dyslexia, dygraphia and dyscalculia) displays poor performance at school. Ideally, this disability needs to be diagnosed when the child is in primary school, or 8 years of age, so that its treatment starts in time. And the only treatment of decease is remedial education. In this procedure, the child has to undergo hourly sessions with a remedial teacher on a one-to-one basis twice or thrice weekly for a few years to largely overcome the disability.
Concessions for LD children
Once a child is diagnosed with learning disability he gets a few relaxations such as dropping a second language, extra time for writing examinations and spelling mistakes being overlooked. Also 20 grace marks are allowed (unlike 15 marks for non-learning disabled children).
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