SSC exam results: Sweet sound of success

MUMBAI: The 16-year-old student of Angel Land High School in Andheri (W) had been diagnosed with profound sensorineural hearing loss at birth, a condition which caused 90% deafness. Dev, who scored 92 and 90 in Maths and Science respectively, plans to study science. "I simply can't express my happiness in words. We've always taken special care of Dev and never let him feel he had a handicap.He has been a topper throughout his academic career," said his father, Ashish Shah. He said the biggest hurdle before disabled students was lack of moral support. "One should remember that the handicapped students need a lot of moral support to shine. But
Sadly, a lot of parents do not understand the seriousness of a disability and pressurize their wards to perform," he added.
"Hearing-impaired children are no different from others and can excel if given the right guidance and support. Dev has been bright in academics since childhood and participated in various extra-curricular activities organised by us, which helped boost his confidence," said Devangi Dalal, audiologist and speech therapist at the institute where Dev was trained in auditory, language, speech and voice skills since childhood.