On World Down Syndrome Day, dna catches up with Wadala resident and special educator Priya Deshpande
Eversince her graduation in Psychology and special B.Ed from SNDT University in 1987, Priya Deshpande, currently Director (Academics) of the Department of Educational Therapy of SRCC, Child Development Centre, has been into educating and spreading awareness about special children. Her first stint was at SAPLING,where she taught for five years. A pioneering institution, SAPLING, is a school for students who are forced to leave mainstream schools due to academic, behavioural, or medical reasons. By embracing a curriculum that offers learning opportunities in different situations and areas,SAPLING works towards transforming the lives of these students.
After acquiring a diploma from Alpha to Omega Institution in Dyslexia from Bevie Hornsby Institution (UK) in 1992, Deshpande joined The New Model Infant School. Here, she had to train children to get in to well-known SoBo schools. As the children underwent rigorous training for the entrance tests, Priya felt the need to be trained as a counsellor so that she would be able to help the children and their parents cope with the pressure and also help them to de-stress. She says, "Here, I learned the importance of inclusive education. I had experience in dealing with differently-abled children but New Model showed a path of integrated education. This was a real eye opener as I had to cope with a mixed group of learners and anxious and stressed parents. Thus I enrolled for Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling and Guidance at St Xavier's Institute of Counselling."
Being passionate about learning new theories of teaching, Deshpande completed her Masters in Psychotherapy in 2007 and later went to Switzerland to attend a conference of Waldorf Steiner's approach to education, especially teaching differently-abled children.
One of the founder members of a NGO CHILD Reach, Priya shares,"CHILD Reach was started by parents and professionals to create awareness about children with learning disability and slow learners. Students from our school in Santacruz appear for standards X and XII The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) board exams."
Passionate about education and catering to the needs of special children, Deshpande has helped start a learning centre to lend support to Vishwajyot School in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai. She has also been a part of a resource room centre at Cathedral and John Connon and Bombay International School in South Bombay.
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