There was a time when differently-abled children or those with learning disabilities were made to feel inadequate in a competitive examination system. The results of the Class 12 Indian School Certificate (ISC) and the Class 10 Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) examinations, announced on Tuesday, upended this trend.
Early diagnosis of their learning disability, assistance from teachers and school managements, and workshops and remedial classes helped these students ace the examinations.
Additional time
Manya Dhupar, a class 12 student from Mallya Aditi International School, who was diagnosed with dysgraphia — a learning disability that affects writing abilities — bagged 92%. She said that she found the board examinations challenging as her handwriting was a little large and she took more time to write. For every test and examination, she got an additional 15 minutes for every hour.
“I feel lucky to have studied in this school. When I struggling as a child, I had a team of teachers who cared for and supported me. I also attended remedial classes at an institute and now feel like my disability does not hold me back,” she said.
Tahura Ansari, a class 10 student of Tunbridge High School, passed her examination, and did not let her loss of hearing get in the way of her academic and extracurricular activities. She won a gold medal in shot-put at the State Championship 2018, hosted by the National Sports Council and competed in inter-school tournaments.
Lip-reading
Though Tahura wears a hearing aid, her auditory impairment makes it only slightly effective. “I can lip-read, and my school ensured that I sat at the first bench in class every day. I am unable to comprehend all the sentences when I can’t lip-read,” she told The Hindu. She still required one-on-one attention and so private tutors played an imperative role in her learning process. The board offered her a language exception as a result of which she was allowed to not study Hindi. Her perseverance extended to her sports activities as well.
Many schools have also made accommodation for their students with special needs. Fifteen students with special needs — some of who had dyscalculia — wrote their class 10 examination from St. Paul’s English High School with an aggregate of 88%. People with dyscalculia have difficulty doing mathematics as a result of brain disorder.
Maths clinic
The school started a ‘maths clinic’ which included workshops for parents and children. Students were provided math anxiety tests and intoduced to strategies like Concept- Definition-Formula (CDF) which helped make the subject easier. Students were allowed to use calculators in the examination, and given extra time in the mathematics paper.
Another student who has made her school proud is Vismaya R. Ritti, a class 10 student from Little Flower Public School, who scored 75.1% in her examinations. Vismaya has trouble walking and was diagnosed with multiple congenital contractures affecting her mobility from birth. She had to undergo four operations and walks with the support of splints in her knees. “Computer applications and physics were subjects I found hard. I wrote down formulae and practised every day to make sure I do well,” she said.