Dear Madam,

My daughter has appeared for 2nd PUC. She is interested in a career in Biology. Looking at her present performance I am aware that she will not get a seat for MBBS in the merit list and we cannot afford a payment seat. I want to know what is the scope if she joins a course in Ayurveda (BAMS). Please guide us.

Smt Kulkarni

Dear Smt Kulkarni,

Let me clarify a couple of points:

A career in Biology does not necessarily mean that Medicine is the only option. There are a number of careers related to Biology, for e.g. Biochemistry, Microbiology, Biotechnology etc.

Also, while interest in Biology is very important for a career in Medicine, it would require many more attributes. Some of these are: a sense of vocation, liking for people and all kinds of people, patience to be a continuous learner, ability to put in long hours of work, a good listener, keen observation, a logical and analytical mind, stamina etc. Your daughter and the family should list out her personality strengths to see if she is a good match for medicine.

Now to answer your question as to the scope of Ayurveda. The healing methods of the East like Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani are gaining in acceptance, as alternate forms of medicine as also being integrated into healthcare as complementary systems.  One can make a decent career in research as well as in practice, providing one is good. Keep in mind that knowledge of Sanskrit is essential in institutions with no provision for teaching the language as an optional subject.

Dear Madam,

My grandson is 9 years old and studies in an English medium school. He faces difficulty in writing but is good at oral skills. He hates writing; he says he does not pay any attention while writing. His scores are generally in single digits. This is the case with Kannada too. How can we motivate him to do better and to take an interest in writing and languages? We are very worried.

Jawal

Dear Mr Jawal,

The data given by you is not adequate to come to any definite conclusion, however it is enough as an indicator that there could be a problem.

Please check out the following:

-Point out letters in English and Kannada at random and see if the child is able to recognise the letters.

-Take an ‘unseen’ passage that a 9-year-old child should be able to read and listen while he reads. Please be objective.

-Check his speed. Is he struggling with word recognition and therefore reading slowly, hesitatingly with omissions and additions of words?

-Are there mirror images while reading, for e.g. reading ‘saw’ as ‘was’ or ‘no’ as ‘on’?

-Is he guessing at words?

-Is he missing lines or often going back to the previously read lines?

-Dictate a paragraph to him at the level of his class.

-Check if he is using the right punctuation - i.e. capitals and full stops.

-Is he having difficulty in spelling?

-Is he mixing up numerals and letters as b for d, or 23 for 32?

In addition check on his ability to remember things in sequence, for e.g. months of the year, story telling, multiplication tables. Is he having difficulty in telling the left from the right?

If you observe all or most of these difficulties, please take your grandson for an evaluation for ‘Specific Learning Disabilities’. There are quite a few centres in Bangalore that conduct these assessments. The earlier it is done, the earlier will appropriate remedial work begin. Please be assured that even if your grandson does have a disability it is a condition that can be helped through scientifically sound methods of teaching.