A special graduation day celebration for Tiny tots

CHENNAI: The scene at Bala Mandir Kamaraj Trust on Friday morning was bustling with energy and emotions. The eleventh graduation day ceremony for differently abled students of Madhuram Narayanan Centre for Exceptional Children began with a colourful performance. Each child enacted the importance of vegetables through dance. This was followed by a traditional dance by students and teachers, while parents cheered on. This year, seven children have graduated to special schools and nine children have graduated to mainstream schools. 

The centre was started in 1989 with just three children. Over 30 years, around 6,000 children from different parts of the country have graduated to special and mainstream schools. The centre is a unit of Bala Mandir Kamaraj Trust. “We cater to children with developmental delay and intellectual challenges from their birth to six years. This is the early intervention period and is considered to be crucial. The parents get trained with children, and become special educators. This is our specialty. We use therapy sessions — music, yoga, art, and dance — to train kids. Each child has an individual timetable,” said Vimala Kannan, one of the directors of the centre. 

The children are trained in group and individual sessions. They’re assessed on their abilities to accomplish daily tasks independently — from personal needs to academics. “Parents are trained in an informed way. We provide social and intellectual interaction where emotional support is gained. Unlike visual or auditory impairments, children with developmental delays need to travel a steeper path in achieving intellectual abilities as there are more challenges. Sometimes they tend to have associated disability conditions,” said Aruna Rathnam, executive director. 

Each child was presented with a gift after highlighting their strengths and accomplishments. The chief guest was Ambika Kameshwar, founder of RASA. The programme concluded with a felicitation of teachers.