Getting learning disability certificates a hassle

HYDERABAD: If dealing with the pressures of having children with personality and learning disorders was not enough, parents in the city are also having nightmarish experiences just to procure a piece of paper that certifies their children's condition.
Getting a certificate confirming Learning Disorder (LD) is an ordeal, say parents, as state-run schools accept the document only if it is issued by authorized officials at Niloufer Hospital.At the hospital, the parents are made to run from pillar to post for assessment checks or in some cases, are denied the certificate altogether.
As per the Persons with Disabilities Act, only select hospitals are authorized to issue LD certificates to those with dyslexia and similar disorders. Moreover, in case of multiple disabilities, parents have to get a certificate from a medical board in the hospital.
There are over 500 parents in the state whose children have recognized learning disorders or dyslexia. "As some institutes accept LD certificates only from government-run hospitals, I had to approach Niloufer Hospital for my daughter even though we already had a certificate from a private clinical psychologist," said Shilpika Turakhiya, mother of an 18-year-old daughter. "After being made to go from one section to another, the assistants refused to issue a certificate saying she was only a slow learner even though assessments showed otherwise," she.
Earlier this year, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) had suggested that children with disabilities must not be asked to produce a certificate for the purpose of scholarships, admissions or examinations, and that the teachers must be trained well enough to handle such children accordingly. With an LD certificate, a student is entitled to concessions like exemptions from a third language, additional time during examinations and access to a person who would write his/her exam.
However, parents rued that there is gross apathy and insensitivity among people towards the condition. "Most often, the medical practioners required to assess the children are not available and parents are made to delay their visits or are pushed around the hospital. Unfortunately, it is the child who bears the brunt of this behavior," said Manisha Gogte, who had a tough time trying to get an LD certificate for her son.
Meanwhile, Dr Gowri Devi, former HOD of psychiatry at Niloufer Hospital, said a proposal detailing an easy and hassle-free method of giving out LD certificates was submitted to the state government two years ago, but is yet to be implemented. "As part of the proposal, it was suggested that any teaching medical college with a psychiatry department be allowed to issue an LD certificate. However, the proposal seems to have been stalled, as a result of which parents are troubled," she said.