There’s something very special about these kids

A friendly school environment, encouraging parents, teachers and peers are enough to make some children to shine. For Vashi-based Madhavi Dhilegaonkar, a hearing impaired student of Fr Agnel’s School in Vashi, scoring 83% in the SSC examinations is a dream come true. Madhavi, who suffers from profound deafness, wants to take up science in college.
Madhavi’s mother Manisha said that she wants to study dentistry.But the medical council does not permit people with a hearing problem to opt for the course. “In that case, she would like to do research in pharmacy,” she added.
Principal of the school Snigdha Roy said, “This year, there were 10 special children who appeared for the SSC exams and were integrated with 283 students of the English medium and 56 students of the Marathi medium.”
Nerul resident Sahil Tarlekar is autistic and scored 65.4% enjoys chemistry and maths but dislikes languages and physics. His mother Dr Anita Tarlekar says that Sahil will probably enroll in a vocational course. “He is a complete Page 3 person and enjoys reading up on events and people,” Dr Tarlekar laughed and said.
Y V V Rahul, also from Vashi, is mildly autistic and scored 75% in the SSC. An avid reader and TV watcher, Rahul is waiting for the admission process to start.
Sheer hard work helped Jatin Patil of Panvel score 90.4%. His mother Archana said, “Jatin had it rough in his earlier schools. However, a few caring people in his current school nurtured him and boosted his confidence to do so well.”
Rishabh Raj Bhatia, an autistic student from St Xavier's School Nerul, scored 71% this year.