The LD Clinic at Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital, Sion, Mumbai

Lending a hand

TIS addresses LD issues at the grassroots, collaborating with the LD Clinic, one of the few certified institutions of its kind in India, dedicated to detecting and treating learning disabilities. It is the first and, until recently, the only centre in the State of Maharashtra approved by the State Government to certify students with learning disabilities – a new centre is now scheduled to open at Nair Hospital, Mumbai.

Our activities include:

• Sustaining the clinic through financial support
• Collaborating with the clinic to simplify the day-to-day logistics and management
• Donating innovative, remedial courseware, including the award-winning Jojo in Numberland, to help the children discover the joys of learning.

A Tata Interactive Systems initiative to promote education for children with learning disabilities

Few had expected Rahul to pass the annual Std X Board exam. But when the results came in, they brought tears of joy to his parents’ eyes – and a well-earned smile on his face. The learning-disabled (LD) student had secured a stunning 84%!

Thousands of such incredible success stories are written at Room 29A, a tiny nook of the Lokmanya Tilak Hospital, better known as Sion Hospital, where the LD Clinic has been located since 1996. Here a dedicated band of doctors, educators and counsellors team up to mould young minds and rewrite their destinies. Step by agonizing step, kids learn to fight the spectre of imminent failure and, with amazing displays of personal grit, to find the success they so richly deserve.

And yet, not so long ago, the LD Clinic project had come close to being shelved for lack of funds. When a leading newspaper ran an article on the clinic’s predicament, it caught the eye of Tata Interactive Systems. A team from TIS had a discussion with Dr Madhuri Kulkarni, the brains and the soul behind the LD Clinic, and her team. This meeting would eventually change the fate of the clinic involved in enabling the disabled.

A plan was quickly formulated to rescue the clinic. Within a short time, Room 29A was again buzzing with hope and activity. The LD Clinic was back on its feet and has never looked back since.

In the words of Dr Kulkarni, “The meeting with Tata Interactive Systems was fortuitous for us. The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation had just stopped our funding after three years, and we were at a loss. TIS lit the flame of hope here and is helping us to carry it forward everyday…”

More than a sponsor, TIS has been a partner in the phenomenal growth of the clinic. Beyond the salaries and the stationery, TIS helps the clinic with a hands-on approach – whether by streamlining the day-to-day functioning or finding solutions to the scores of administrative issues.

TIS has shared its vast library of educational software, including the award-winning Jojo in Numberland, to help the children discover the joys of learning. In the last two years, about 1700 students were certified at the LD Clinic, and 3300 over the last five. But success has its drawbacks. While the media helped create awareness, there were negative reports too in the news about the long queues at the clinic. Again, TIS chipped in with a Tatafone and a mobile phone to handle multiple queries. It helped appoint a new receptionist to handle calls more professionally.

TIS also helped the clinic design an appropriate feedback form to collect data on the perceptions of the parents and gather suggestions for improvement. TIS’s efforts at streamlining the operations complemented the clinic’s endeavour to improve screening techniques, resulting in an increase of certifications from 30% to 60% in the span of a few years.

Often the sheer despair of the parents is as critical an issue as the children’s learning disabilities. Tata Interactive Systems has created a 100-page workbook, which includes 15 pages of information for parents on LD and government concessions that the children can avail, and 85 worksheets for children, which help remediate, challenge and motivate them. TIS funding has also helped the LD Clinic conduct training and awareness programmes for teachers, students, principals and parents. The clinic also holds seminars on learning disabilities and camps where yoga, relaxation and autosuggestion techniques are taught with encouraging results.

Whether it’s an SSC or ICSE Board exam, a postgraduate degree or GRE, the clinic helps children suffering from dyslexia (inability to recognise and understand written words), dyscalculia (inability to perform calculations) or dysgraphia (inability to write legibly). Far from being ‘retarded’, as they are often unjustly labelled, these students often have high IQs and are eager learners.

The problems of LD children stem from slight neurological or neuropsychological malfunctions and, given a chance, these can be overcome. And that is precisely what the clinic ensures. Its certification enables LD students to get the concessions they need to compete on equal terms – little gestures that add up to make a big difference.

Today, the LD Clinic is recognised nationwide. Since 1996 until recently, it had been the only centre in Maharashtra approved by the state government to certify students with learning disabilities. Parents flock here from within the state, and far beyond, seeking to salvage their children’s lives and their own shattered dreams. At Room 29A, the team often finds itself struggling to cope with the deluge of people that pours in, day after day. One wonders how the team manages to remain cheerful amidst all the pressure. Much remains to be done, but with the solid backing of Tata Interactive Systems, the future of the LD Clinic does seem a lot brighter than its past.

Tata Interactive Systems views the LD students as a key community to support and creates e-learning for LD students worldwide. TIS is presently working on a ‘Train the Teachers’ e-learning project for the US Department of Defence that trains teachers on how to spot and teach LD students.