This is for Kids who are Different and get Teased,
Those who try their best but can’t get others Pleased.
For when they will eventually Grow, As history does Show,
It’s their differences that will make them a Winner,
And those who ridiculed them will watch them, guilty as a Sinner.
Getting your toddler admitted in a preschool of choice is a challenge in itself and many of us are often left complaining about the trauma that we as parents are put through. But just for a moment, think about those parents who have to seek nursery/preschool admission when a child has some form of mental or physical disability. Such children are often called children with special needs.
For a special child securing admission in a good preschool/playschool or any pre-primary institution, is a challenge that we can’t even imagine. In a society that is extremely obsessive about its defects and borders on narcissism when it comes to becoming ‘perfect’ in some way, a special child has only himself and his family to ensure that life isn’t a bed of thorns that others would like him to believe.
However, just every pre-primary school cannot be out-rightly blamed for this problem. It is just that they aren’t well-equipped to handle the requirements of educating a child who has a physical/mental disability and there hasn’t been a strong initiative by the state to ensure that every nursery/preschool makes sure that the school campus can accommodate children with special needs too.
The movie ‘Taare Zameen Par’ beautifully portrayed how insensitive people could be to such children. That movie would have touched a cord with every parent of a ‘defined’ slow learner or a dyslexic child. The scenario gets even worse when admissions are sought for students who are autistic or have some form of facial (or any other very visible physical) deformity. I hope the DoE wakes up and realises that these ‘different’ children deserve every bit of care and love and hence, equal preschooling and schooling opportunities and makes sure that schools aren’t allowed to discriminate against them.
Those low on motivation to help out their child who presents a ‘perceived’ inadequacy might be inspired by reading ‘The Helen Keller Story’ — it is an amazing real-life story about a young girl who lost both her sight and hearing when she was only two-years old — yes, her family had to witness her being rendered blind and a deaf. Read about how she conquered every crippling misfortune that lay in her path.
