It is as they say, where there is a will, there is a way. It’s not just a proverbial saying for this Delhi Public School student Shubang Rathi. This is all the more appreciable with an excellent 80 per cent which he acquired in CBSE Class 12 examination, despite being a patient of dyslexia.
A student of DPS, Vasant Kunj, Shubang is suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and has a problem in reading, writing, remembering due to low attention span. Due to his increased restlessness, he cannot concentrate for more than a few minutes.
Besides, struggling with his own disorders, he has to also wage a war against a society that treats him with immense scoff. ‘I used to study regularly and follow everything that my teachers taught me. Before the exams, I had to work extra hard to overcome these challenges,’ said Rathi. His mentor, Rajeeb Bhatt, has been an inspiration for him. Also running Adhyayan Academy, Bhatt said: ‘He has to struggle a lot. Even the school was not cooperative. The teacher used to say what is the point to make him write exams when he will fail?’ Rajeeb, who has been mentoring him from the past six years, feels: ‘Teaching him was not easy. But his visual memory is excellent and better than any normal person. We have to develop various techniques to make him study.’
These various techniques included cause and effect methods, flashcards, audio-visual methods and the like. Since Shubang was a music lover, his question and answers were converted into musical tunes to help him learn. He also has a problem in connecting sentences.
According to his teacher, he cannot write too long sentences and to make it easier for him, simple sentences were constructed and he was taught to connect them by using sentence connectors.
Being restless, yoga and meditation were part of his daily schedule. Constant counselling was provided to him by his teachers and mother to help him cope-up with the pressure. Theoretical subjects like geography were not his forte but he still worked very sincerely and scored 88 in geography. Not only does Shubang struggle with his own problems but it has also proved to be a long fight for his mother. ‘I had to work a lot with him. Since his school was not cooperative, I have to provide him with extra support and also, take care of his learning disability. Schools should not shun students with dyslexia. We have to learn to accept the problem, motivate such children and help them move forward,’ said Shobha Rathi, Shubang’s mother.
A student of DPS, Vasant Kunj, Shubang is suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and has a problem in reading, writing, remembering due to low attention span. Due to his increased restlessness, he cannot concentrate for more than a few minutes.
Besides, struggling with his own disorders, he has to also wage a war against a society that treats him with immense scoff. ‘I used to study regularly and follow everything that my teachers taught me. Before the exams, I had to work extra hard to overcome these challenges,’ said Rathi. His mentor, Rajeeb Bhatt, has been an inspiration for him. Also running Adhyayan Academy, Bhatt said: ‘He has to struggle a lot. Even the school was not cooperative. The teacher used to say what is the point to make him write exams when he will fail?’ Rajeeb, who has been mentoring him from the past six years, feels: ‘Teaching him was not easy. But his visual memory is excellent and better than any normal person. We have to develop various techniques to make him study.’
These various techniques included cause and effect methods, flashcards, audio-visual methods and the like. Since Shubang was a music lover, his question and answers were converted into musical tunes to help him learn. He also has a problem in connecting sentences.
According to his teacher, he cannot write too long sentences and to make it easier for him, simple sentences were constructed and he was taught to connect them by using sentence connectors.
Being restless, yoga and meditation were part of his daily schedule. Constant counselling was provided to him by his teachers and mother to help him cope-up with the pressure. Theoretical subjects like geography were not his forte but he still worked very sincerely and scored 88 in geography. Not only does Shubang struggle with his own problems but it has also proved to be a long fight for his mother. ‘I had to work a lot with him. Since his school was not cooperative, I have to provide him with extra support and also, take care of his learning disability. Schools should not shun students with dyslexia. We have to learn to accept the problem, motivate such children and help them move forward,’ said Shobha Rathi, Shubang’s mother.