'Understand problems faced by kids with learning disabilities'

Deepika Resource Centre Bangalore Principal Sita Krishnamurthy addressing a group of teachers said that the teachers will have to differentiate between normal and children with learning disabilities and accordingly adapt teaching techniques.

Asking the teachers to throw bits of papers in the air and then try to catch it, she tried to tell teachers that the bits of paper they could gather from the air is the reception capacity of normal children. “If normal children can receive so little of what information is thrown by teachers at them what about children with learning disabilities,” she questioned, emphasising on the need to understand the problems faced by children and techniques in which these children should be approached.

She defined autism to be a complex developmental disability that typically appears during first 3 years of life. She said that in this disability the speech is delayed and the child lacks social skills like smiling, liking towards toys etc.

“Autistic children cannot face people and they cannot establish eye contact. Since sensory issues are either too little or too extreme in them, they either fail to express emotions or tend to over-react to sensory stimuli. They often have a stereotyped behaviour and non functional ritualistic routine,” she said and added that while Pervasive Developmental Disorder cases should be sent to special schools, children falling under Asperger’s Syndrome (they can pick language) can be kept in normal schools after consulting the doctors and giving proper care and treatment required.
She suggested various exercises to identify the autistic children and children with learning disability and also spoke about the ways in which these children can be taught.

Many teachers from special schools and normal schools took part in the seminar.