Guiding their way

Updated on: Tuesday, May 24, 2011

One hundred and two challenged children from Dakshina Kannada district were givenassistance to help them with their studies and mobility. The programme held at the Government School, Gandhinagar, Mangalore,was organised by the Government's Sarva Shikshana Abhiyaan programme.

The equipment was provided by Skanda Educational and Medical Seva Trust, Bangalore. They had earlier organised a measurement camp, and made a note of each child's requirement.

Helping aid

Shruthi, 10, got a back-support aid, a neck support aid, and a wheelchair. Her mother, Shamitha, said she hoped this would help her daughter. Jayashree and Harish said that their daughter, who looked happy sitting in the wheelchair she had been given, is very fond of watching Kannada TV serials.

Mr. Harish said that a teacher from the SSS visited their home to teach her. Avvamma, mother of a ten-year-old hyperactive boy, said that her son had been given callipers and that he was being home-schooled.
Hone skills

]Study kits for the mentally challenged were also distributed. These consisted of beads of various sizes, colours and shapes, accessories to help motor skills and concentration, and books.

“Parents can use these aids to help their children and teach them,” said Irene Pinto, an integrated education teacher. Of the 1,344 children in Mangalore range, 44 are educated at home. “Nineteen have come into the mainstream. Two children who attend school wheelchair-bound, one in St. Lawrence School, Bondel and the other in Government School, Mullakaadu,” said SSS Deputy Planning Official Shivaprakash.
Planning their day

Ms. Pinto said that the teachers who visit the homes of the challenged children teach them daily living skills. These include teaching them how to brush their teeth, wash their face, tie their shoelaces, button their clothes, comb their hair, eat, and drink water, toilet train.

“We also teach them how to manage the drooling. Because swallowing does not come to them naturally, we train them to swallow by giving them a balloon to blow or a sweet,” she said. Each teacher visits the home of a maximum of three challenged children. The teachers visit once a week. They also tell the parents about Government schemes that are specifically aimed at benefiting challenged children.

This includes a monthly allowance of Rs.400 to Rs.1,000 (depending on the severity of the challenge).

Under the SSS, there more than 100 challenged children in Mangalore Taluk, she said. “People are more aware now of the needs of challenged children. In 2004-05, we had six to seven challenged children,” she said. On April 9, 18 sets of Braille kits were given to children who were visually-challenged, said Ms. Pinto.

Guiding their way

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