Empower, educate children with dyslexia: Teachers

COIMBATORE: A group of children with dyslexia showed off their skills in pot painting, poster making and cooking without fire at an event organised by city-based Rashmika Centre for Learning and Counselling on the occasion of the Dyslexia Awareness Week on Monday.

Teachers

working with kids with learning disabilities said that not many understand that dyslexia is a learning disability that only concerns academics.

Principal of Rashmika Centre for Learning and Counselling Elizabeth Suresh said that dyslexic children are ‘right brained’. “They are highly creative. In mainstream schools, these students do not get a chance to showcase their talents because they are not good in studies. We give these children an opportunity to showcase their talents when they are allowed to be free to do whatever they are doing,” she said.

Identifying the hidden talents of children with learning disabilities boost their self-esteem, director of Akshyantra Learning Centre Aishwarya Rao said. “A child’s exposure to extra-curricular activities and doing well in one of them definitely boosts their confidence level. This is the reason why children with learning difficulties should be given one to one coaching in a specialized department for help with specific subjects. But at some schools, they are made to attend classes in craft, dance, music and story telling with children, who do not have any such difficulties,” Rao told TOI.

In a bid to create more awareness about dyslexia or how a dyslexic child perceives writing, Rashmika tied up with Peking Restaurant at VOC Park to create a dyslexic menu card. “We recommend that customers use them to understand what dyslexic children go through and the difficulties they face,” Suresh said.

The teachers have found art to be an effective tool to educate children with learning disabilities. “Music, art and painting help them remember things. Music and singing help them learn construction of sentences, sequencing of words. Rhythm helps them learn spelling. Art and painting help them visualize things and associate them with words,” Suresh said.

However, not many schools work with dyslexic children, help them overcome the difficulties and excel in other activities, she added.


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