A growing number of parents of special-needs children are opting for Vaishishtyam, a special school for mentally and physically challenged children set up in Vatsalyagram. Costs on education and transport are borne by the institution.

Most of these special needs school children belong to poor families who live below poverty line and are unable to pay even nominal fees for their education, leave aside normal day to day expenditures. The institution has created support groups and specialized curriculum to meet the specific requirements of special needs.

The institution has also launched its first ever project focused on teaching kindergardens to use the latest approaches to working with children with autism. While most of the children can not walk and talk, but courage and the vibrant smile on their faces is something that makes one forget all the troubles.

"There isn't a kid in the world who hasn't occasionally wanted to skip schools but children who struggle with learning can grow to dread school so much, that every day becomes a battle for them," says Minakshi Aggarwal, Principal of the school.

She says that some of the children who are admitted on the biological age of 14 have only 2-3 years of mental age and are required to be taught even practices of toilets, hand wash and to comb their hair. The institution has also started vocational courses for senior students so as to enable them to generate economic activities for their own livelihood in the long run. The school also organizes various medical camps for treating various ailments of special needs children in which renowned experts from various medical fields are invited for specialized treatments from time to time.

In comparison with normal children, the special needs children require much more attention particularly children with Down Syndrome, Trizomy, Moizaic, where two attendants are required for handling one child. While the institution is spending average ₹10,000  per month on each day scholar children and average ₹20,000  per month on those staying in the hostel but the parents are only requested to contribute voluntarily for generating support base so as institution could sustain in the long run. 

The schools cater to the needs of children with special needs and learning difficulties such as dyslexia, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and cognitive disabilities. Efforts are made to integrate these children into the mainstream school environment.

Vaishishtyam a charitable day and boarding school serving children of different age group suffering from autism spectrum disorder, speech and language impairments, vision and hearing impairments, down syndrome and multiple disabilities. Most of the students have challenging behaviours that interfere with their academic progress at school as well as interfering with their home life and community access.

Vaishishtyam is working on building an inclusive school that is open to children with disabilities, through play and the creation of free support services for disadvantaged families.

“We are working to tackle the stigma of disability, so that no parent feels pressured to give up a disabled child,” says school Principal Minakshi Agarwal.

For the past one year, Vaishishtyam experts in child development have been successfully working with parents of special needs children’s and as a result, children, who just one year ago were considered “not capable of learning” are now successfully integrating in the school system and taking part in intervention programmes.

(Photo: Jahid Sayyad)