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The diagnosis for dyslexia and the prescription for this widely prevalent disorder offered in the stirring Taare Zameen Par shouldn’t be beyond anyone’s reach.
At least it’s within the means of the government that’s under constitutional obligation not to discriminate, extend equal opportunities to all and also help its people overcome any handicap they suffer from.
The state’s apathy towards challenged persons is well known. It’s least interested in maintaining people’s health and making them literate, a fact that can be verified from its budgetary allocations for these two foundations which are must for a strong nation.
The judicial interventions through the courts’ laudable right to give indulgence in a matter of public interest has held out repeated warnings to the state and its functionaries to provide equal opportunities to the physically, emotionally or visually challenged persons, but to no avail.
There are about 25,000 special educators in India, but in the curriculum used in their training, autism is just a cursory mention.
BEd programmes have no paper on autism. Rehabilitation Council of India’s diploma course in autism is offered only in a few cities and Disability Management is not in medical courseware.
There are no exclusive arrangements for children facing different types of challenges, including dyslexia, which Ishaan suffered from in the film. A report suggests that while one in 10,000 children suffered from autism, including dyslexia, ten years ago, the prevalence is now 3-4 per 1,000 live births.
A tentative estimate suggests that over 20 lakh people are living with autism in India. WHO puts the global prevalence at 1 in 500. Boys are four times more likely to have autism than girls.
Every year, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Secunderabad, registers approximately 100-125 new cases, much higher compared to five years ago, a report says, quoting NIMH director, L Govinda Rao.
A recent study by the Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience at Children’s Hospital, Boston (USA), says some children with dyslexia struggle to read because their brains aren’t properly wired to process fast-changing sounds.
The study published in the journal Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience found that sound training via computer exercises can literally rewire children’s brains, correcting the sound processing problem and improving reading.