Schools, teachers, and parents are coping with the norm of social distancing and online education systems, by designing and adapting materials for children with disabilities in Kerala, in India, while for some the online approach is working well but for others, it is a mixed bag and needs new solutions.
For instance, the Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK), a comprehensive program for school education by the Government of Kerala, is adapting its educational material.
“We are adapting study material for six categories of disabilities – hearing disability, visual disability, autism, cerebral palsy, specific learning disability, and intellectual disability. We have resource persons to record the material on mobile phones so that it will be smaller and can be transferred easily to parents of children. An expert group would approve the material at the state level and the SCERT (State Council of Education Research and Training),” says Pooja, State Programme Officer of Inclusive Education, SSK.
The material will be uploaded on Telegram, and WhatsApp groups of parents and a YouTube channel called White Board SSK. “The materials will also be available at block resource centers, and therapy centers with the material further adapted for specific children. There will also be expert talks held for parents. Children, teachers, and parents will be able to communicate, and worksheets will be prepared for the kids,” Pooja says.
The National Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (NIPMR) has also been conducting online activities but not just on academics. “We have been having sessions on daily household activities and the precautions to take during COVID-19. From the third day of the lockdown, we have been engaging with parents on WhatsApp groups and giving instructions on the activities that the kids (with disabilities like autism) could engage in. The parents are to document every activity,” says Chandrababu, Joint Director, NIPMR.
However, not all children with disabilities can afford to be in front of a screen for a long time. There are disabilities of different kinds — physical, intellectual, and learning – and there should be separate strategies for each of these groups, says Seema Lal, co-founder of the NGO Together We Can. It is an advocacy group based in Kochi, which addresses the needs of children with disabilities.
“Already, the education system was not inclusive enough for children with disabilities. The divide has only increased when the system has now switched to online media,” says Seema, who is also a psychologist and special educator.
She says that the shift has been too hasty, and proper planning should have been before this. “There should have been separate meetings held with stakeholders of each different age group, considering the diversity of children with disabilities,” she points out.
Seema says that the parents and the children should have been prepared for this. Earlier, the use of smartphones was recommended, but now it’s the reverse.
