Early detection helps learning-disabled children

Just a year before her board exam, 15-year-old Reetu (name changed) was detected to be suffering from a learning disability (LD).

“My daughter’s score hit rock bottom in class 9. The school called us for counselling and advised us  to make her undergo an LD test.  It was difficult to hear this news when she was just a year away from appearing for the board exams,” said Reetu’s mother.
It is important for parents and teachers to identify LD early, suggest psychologists.

“If it was detected early, my child would have got more time to adapt to it. She had to make major changes in her studying style, which is not easy with the pressure of board exams,’’ said Reetu’s mother.

Learning disabilities are present in a child since an early age — a few studies have even found the evidence of LD in children as young as two years old.

“My son was studying in the same school since kindergarten. Still the school was unable to recognise the disorder until class 9. This could be because schools do not want to blemish their 100% pass record and only get students checked in class 9, so that they can be segregated into the LD criteria,” claimed a parent from Virar.

“Due to concessions by the state board, such as extra time, children with LD can pass the board exam. But it is difficult for them to pursue higher studies,’’ said another parent, who lives in Santa Cruz.

Dr Samir Dalwai, developmental paediatrician, LD Clinic LTMG Sion hospital, said, “Around 3 crore children in India suffer from dyslexia. But over the last few years, intervention in the form of remedial education, occupational therapy and counselling have resulted in them getting good scores. The certification and provision by the state board has also helped.’’

But the appreciation of such children, particularly by schools and parents, has led to a remarkable increase in their self-esteem, which helps them approach exams with more confidence, he added. “We always knew that children diagnosed with LD have the potential to do well.”