NGO seeks SSC board’s help for autistic children
Forum For Autism, an NGO that works with autistic children, has drafted a letter to the SSC board asking for concessions for autistic children, which will be similar to the ones given to children with dyslexia. The letter will be presented to board chairperson Vijaysheela Sardesai on Thursday which happens to be World Autism Day.
“We are keen on helping autistic children and will definitely look into the matter. Once I receive the letter, we will examine the proposal,’’ says Sardesai.
The concessions will include dropping a language for the SSC exams, studying five subjects instead of six, as well as provisions for a helper during the practical exams.
The forum has already approached the National Institute of Open Schooling over concessions and also plans to approach the ICSE board.
The CBSE board has already introduced several concessions for autistic children.
Autism—a little-understood and much misunderstood condition in India—is a neurological disorder that primarily affects social interaction. “Autistic kids live in their own world and are largely oblivious to their surroundings. They lack imagination and the ability to communicate,’’ says Chitra Iyer, president of the forum and parent of an autistic child.
“Autistic children can hear, but can’t understand what they are hearing, see but not interpret what they are seeing and think without being able to tell you what they are thinking,’’ says Swati Popat Vats, another member of the forum.
NEW PRE-SCHOOL ON THE BLOCK
NEW PRE-SCHOOL ON THE BLOCK
The Podar Jumbo chain of pre-schools have started a separate pre-school only for autistic children called Podar Khushi Kids. “Integrating autistic kids into the mainstream at the pre-school level may actually harm them as they don’t get the right occupational therapy,’’ says Swati Popat Vats, president of the Podar Education Network.
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