Different question papers, more time to finish an exam or a writer for a test are accommodations that mainstream schools can make to help a child with dyslexia cope, said the head of an organisation working with children with dyslexia.
The steps should be supplemented with sessions with special educators for specific skill enhancement depending on the ability of a child, she said.
“The child has to be given time to recover in a classroom. He or she has certain foundational deficiencies in language (reading, writing) and mathematics. If they are not given time to cope, it is a waste of educable population,” said Arundhati Sarkar, director of Manochetna Academic and Research Centre (Marc).
Low performance in academics often leads to a child with dyslexia being isolated from their peers in a classroom.
“When they do not perform (in academics) they are judged harshly. When they are not doing well they are not included in the playgroup. They are not spoken to by their peers,” said Sarkar.
It is not enough for teachers to be aware but they need to be able to recognise the deficiencies that would help the child with dyslexia.
“A child could otherwise look alert in a classroom and be able to verbally answer. When they make a spelling mistake, have short-term memory gap or are unable to express themselves, a teacher needs to understand that the child is not just being naughty but there could be a reason behind this,” said Sarkar.
The chairperson emeritus of Manovikas Kendra, Sharada Fatehpuria, who started the institution in 1974, said that awareness has increased but there is still a long way to go.
“We have to create awareness and go to all types of schools. Children in middle class families or those in low-income groups continue to suffer because their parents do not know what dyslexia is,” she said.
On Wednesday, Marc, a wing of Manovikas Kendra, organised a “meet over coffee”, as part of their ongoing awareness for dyslexia campaign.
The talk focused on management of undesirable behaviour of young individuals and its social consequences.
Sarkar was in conversation with psychologist AnuttamaBanerjee and dancer and social reformer AlokanandaRoy.
Sarkar shared examples where a child with dyslexia, despite his other talents, is not recognised in school by his friends because of his low academic performance. To please his friends, he would take money from his parent's wallet that left the mother distraught.
Another student wrote an abusive letter to a teacher, leading the teacher to take the student to the headmaster of the school.
Banerjee said that it is important to discipline a child but not with aggression because that can lead to counteraggression.
