Six children surround Vanitha teacher as she stands next to the blackboard, a steel glass, half filled with water, in her had. Eight-year-old Tipu Sultan goes first. He dips two fingers in the water and starts writing a word assigned to him. He dips his fingers again till he completes the word ‘Paadam’. They call this “wet wall writing”, a tactile activity where the child tries to remember the next letter before the other letters written on the board dry up. I am at a resource room at Lady Nye Higher Secondary School in Taraman, set up by the Kalanjiyam Trust in association with Madras Dyslexia Association. Twenty children from classes II to V are part of the remedial intervention programme, offered to children identified to have specific learning difficulties or dyslexia. Tipu Sultan, for instance, used to write “jangris and jalebis” before he was found to be dyslexic. He could not look and read and was hyperactive. After being placed in the remedial classes, he is showing considerable improvement and now has knowledge that can be equated with that of a class I student, say his teachers. For parents of these children with dyslexia, having a resource room in the school with trained teachers comes as a big advantage. They don’t have to go searching for the closest centre, and the programmes are integrated within the school hours. MDA, a non-profit service organisation working in this space since 1992, is encouraging schools to set up resource rooms. Currently, 34 institutions in the city, which include government, aided and private, are part of the initiative to offer remedial programmes. “Dyslexia is a hidden disability. Many parents don’t like to acknowledge the fact; nor do all teachers have the knowledge or time to offer individualised attention to children with learning disabilities,” says Harini Ramanujam, coordinator, MDA, adding that they help set up resource rooms, train teachers and handhold a school for a year till they can be on their own. Primary teachers are the main target as earlier the disability is identified, the better it is for the children. After orientation programmes are conducted at schools, a few teachers are offered intensive training to equip them with the skills to handle children with severe dyslexia. “In a month, we speak at four schools, apart from other forums,” says Rashmi Wankhede, who is part of the MDA team that spreads awareness about dyslexia. “Setting up a room depends on the level of a school management’s commitment to helping children with learning disabilities. The management has to appoint special educators,” says Harini. Vana Vani Matriculation Higher Secondary School, one of the first schools to set up a resource room when MDA launched the initiative in 2014, started with 20 primary students. The intervention has improved the pass percentage of students. Now, the school has identified 100 students across classes who are offered remedial activities. MDA is next working with high school students. “Many students drop out of school because of dyslexia; that’s our next focus area,” says Harini, adding that MDA along with the state government is working towards launching a screening tool to identity the level of dyslexia in Tamil. To know more, visit www.mdachennai.com

Stay updated with all the Chennai Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.