‘I don't give a damn for any man who can spell a word only one way..‘

Mark Twain

That was an essay written by me when I was in class VI, I thought I had written a great essay, but my teacher did not think the same!

I am 26 years old now, I live in New Zealand, I moved here after my graduation to pursue further studies here. I did my post graduation and am a certified mountaineer and camper, I love being outdoors, I am a professional who organizes tours across the islands of NZ

Last year when I came to India, I went back to school to meet up with my teachers and friends. I also met my special educator who helped me a great deal during my school days. I think I was her favourite. She kept copious notes on me, of the sessions she took, and the progress I made. If you went through those notes, this is what you would see…

“Failed in Std 4. Parents were shocked, as his performance from Std I to 3 was reasonably good. Parents decided to change his school, and he joined Bombay Cambridge School. Worked very hard through Std 5 and 6, but his results showed scores below average. Parents were quite desperate….he didn’t study, wanted to play all the time, had the brains but showed poor marks…”!So how did this change? This is what happened.

My parents met the counsellor, who began work with the hope to find the reason for my poor performance. She identified it as pressure and met my parents to help me on the home front. My parents were already quite easy with me - baffled by this profile, the counsellor referred me to the special educator who began taking me for sessions. She began with meeting my teachers, and one of them showed her my essay on ‘My Favourite Cricketer’…

I don’t know what was wrong – its not that I didn’t try to study – its just that nothing seemed to make any sense…

Sometimes I was scared that I was all wrong, that the school would throw me out…

From one professional to another…nobody could help me…My poor parents…!

The counsellor and special educator put me through a series of diagnostic tests, both educational and psychological. Met my teachers, parents, gathered information and compiled the student’s (my) profile which read as follows ….

Age : - 12 years old,

Studying in :- Std. 6

What teachers said :- he has barely managed to pass the class over the last 2 years. He cannot read, has difficulty in completing his work and his handwriting is illegible. But he is bright, and can answer in class, he knows a lot! He is shy and soft-spoken.

What the counsellor said :- there is a noticeable concern about his growing unhappiness and frustration with learning tasks. There is anxiety, and he is hesitant in attempting tasks related to academics.He is intelligent, he can talk endlessly about animals, loves watching TV channels like Discovery, loves books on nature. Enjoys outdoor activities.

He is an articulate and sensitive child who is a passionate animal and nature lover. His educated and caring parents are confused over his academic struggle. They are understanding parents, and are eager to help in any way possible.It is important to support him with remediation and to help get provisions at the earliest

What the test results said :- on the WISC, his IQ fell into the category of ‘bright-normal’ and there was significant discrepancy between PIQ and VIQ. On other formal and informal tests, there were clear indicators of learning disabilities, especially in the areas of reading and written work (dyslexia and dysgraphia).

The above profile indicated that the student required intensive remediation.

The special educator first met my parents and explained all about learning disability, they were relieved, and reassured that their child would survive the school system.

Then she met me, spoke to me at length about my ‘problem’. I listened carefully, but did not grasp all of it. I just smiled and said, ‘Miss, thank god, I’m not mad!’

It was the first time that somebody didn’t blame me for the problem… I had been feeling both guilty and ashamed for causing so much distress to my parent and my nice teachers…

All my classmates seemed to do things so easily…I could understand what the teacher said, but when it got written, it made my head swim…

I started receiving two hours of intensive learning assistance thrice a week, directed towards reading as well as written skills and adapting tasks to suit my style of learning. After a couple of months of remediation, I began to make some improvement. My teachers too confirmed my slow and steady progress. The teachers although hesitant initially, facilitated the process by offering me their assistance.

It was soon recommended that I should avail of the provisions granted at the SSC board level examinations, and would have to approach the Sion Hospital to procure the certificate for the same. 13 years ago the process of certification was not easy for schools and parents to comprehend, but after a few visits to the hospital, the certification process was completed.

The LD certificate gave me the provisions of replacing languages with subjects that were more practical oriented, and I also had the provision of a writer, and extra time, which greatly reduced my anxiety during examinations.

Helping to get a writer, making alternate question papers, were all new to the school system, but the school was supportive and found ways to arrange the above provisions.

Initially I was delighted that I didn’t have to struggle with languages… at the same time, I was also worried whether my friends would tease me…

My teacher explained to me that it was alright to get help, and that it didn’t mean I was dumb or that there was something wrong with me…

Special Educators report: The remediation and the provisions were not easy solutions in themselves. From the repeated failure cycles had surfaced a myriad of questions of self-doubt and apprehension at meeting success. Rebuilding the child’s confidence in his own abilities was also a key objective of the remediation strategy. With renewed hope and great belief in himself, he prepared to write the SSC examinations in March 2000.

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Here is an experience that I shared with my teacher when I got home after the first paper. “As all the students waited to enter the examination hall, they wished each other, ‘Best of Luck!’ One of the students said ‘Why should we wish you – best of luck, we will wish your writer, he is writing your paper!’ I was hurt and upset because I had studied hard and I knew that my writer was writing only what I dictated.”

You cannot imagine my joy when the results were declared - I got a 69%, which was awesome! I joined Bhavan’s College and graduated in Biology. My love for animals and nature got me interested in various club activities in college. I found that my difficulty in no way hampered my involvement in this, and I volunteered for adventure and mountaineering camps in the Himalayas. I soon became an instructor on nature trail camps, and I knew I had found my calling….!

That’s my story, I keep in touch with all my friends and teachers, I regularly post my pictures on FB when I do something new and exciting.

Today, when I look at where I’ve reached, I don’t think I’m very different from the others around - even though I have a learning disability, I’m doing what I love and that’s what really matters, doesn’t it?

Bombay Cambridge Gurukul