CHENNAI: It was a celebration of coming together — of kids with their bright smiles and big hopes, parents with their trust in their kids’ and the alumni with their stories of success. With children dressed up in colorful costumes suiting their drama or dance performance and panel discussion by parents about their experiences of tackling intellectual disability in their kids, Samyam by Madhuram Narayanan Centre for Exceptional Children (MNC) at Bala Mandir Cultural Center was nothing less than a festival.
“This is the 33rd year of the establishment of MNC. Apart from Christmas, Deepavali, and other celebrations, we host annual programmes like Samyam and Sambhavam. Samyam is intended to give students and parents and also alumni, a platform to share their experiences on the early intervention programme we are offering. Also, the children and their parents get to participate on stage.
In Sambhavam, children are taken out to places like supermarkets or parks where public interaction occurs. It is offered as experiential learning. It is a 10-day programme where children will learn to eat at a public place, buy things from a supermarket, etc,” said Vimala Kannan, former principal, MNC.
Focus on parental support
The institution focusses on early child intervention and provides support to children under the age of six. Highlighting that parental involvement is crucial in every aspect of teaching, a few parents shared their thoughts on their kids’ education.
Explaining the activities her son Thanish Raj does at their house, Nagavalli said, “We keep him engaged with small activities that also involve our participation and support. It can be something they might have already done at school like a simple drawing activity with parents. I also assign a particular time for each activity so that I can track their progress.”
Providing constant attention might not be possible for all. “Not only parents but siblings or anybody else can take care of the kid and look into their activities,” said Deepa, mother of Tharun. The parents agreed that more than anyone else they have to understand their kids, their difficulties and their capabilities.
The chief guest of the ceremony, B Senthamilselvi, founder-principal, Kumaran Special School, Ennore, Rajammal Trust, as the mother of MNC alumni shared her journey of understanding her kids and building a school of training other children with such difficulties.
She said, “MNC is like my ‘thaaiveedu’. When I admitted my elder son Dinesh to MNC, it was difficult in the initial days. Slowly everything from travelling for almost two hours every day to school, taking care of my second child Balu to helping at the school became manageable. I was scared when I started the training for kids but eventually went on to finishing my post-graduation and also starting another training centre for kids.”