Getting into School
Schools often admit differently abled children thinking they just have a delay in their development, according to Sriram. The schools take these children in thinking they’re just overactive because they’re only three or four years old.
“They feel 'okay he will settle down’, but then after a year the school will start feeling that there's something wrong with a child,” she said.
It’s at that point that schools approach Sriram for assessment and they find out that the child either falls on the Autism spectrum or has ADHD.
“But then when that age of 10 arrives, the school also kick them out,” Anand said. “They say that, 'No, it is not possible. We cannot take care,’ and it's genuine problem.”
Anand said that schools kick the children out when they it gets to the point where they are unable to do anything with the child. This is when parents start looking for a good center to put their child in.
Sathya Anand
But the hunt for centers isn’t easy. Anand said that parents often hop from center to center when they realize their child isn’t learning anything.
“Not all the centers are good,” Anand said. “They need to really be lucky. I will say that many have become commercial. They don't give in that 100 percent. It has to come from the heart. That passion is not there.”
According to Anand, the special educators at some centers don’t really listen to the parents. She said that is one of the most important things that special educators like her should do. They also need to positively encourage the parents, rather than saying that the child is not going to improve in any way.
Another option for parents is to enroll their child in a school that integrates differently abled children along with neurotypical kids. Unfortunately, that too appears to be a problem.
Sriram said that schools often aren’t willing to hire a special educator to work with differently abled children. She blames the attitude, saying school managements often think along the lines of, “When they have special schools, why should they come to mainstream school?”
A shadow teacher sitting next to a differently abled student in a classroom at Montfort School in Chennai
“So it's like very very small amount of schools only are mainstream integrated schools,” Anbumani said. “When you go and disclose the diagnosis, most of the time they will not enroll the child only in the first place.”
Anbumani said she knows only about four mainstream schools that take in differently abled children where she lives in Chennai.
Children with speech disabilities or mental retardation are less likely to enroll in schools, according to an article by Indiaspend about why 45 percent of Indians with special needs are illiterate.
However, Sriram said that although that was a difficulty faced about 10 years ago, nowadays thanks to resource rooms in schools and guidance given by professionals, it is possible for children with speech disabilities and mental retardation to enroll in schools and get an education.