Disability no barrier for success in education

Abishek Muralidharan (29) of Adambakkam who has Cerebral Palsy managed to clear class XII and earn his post-graduation degree with the help of scribe by honing his oratory skills. “I passed exams under NIOS. I did not find studying tough and looked forward to graduating. Till class ten, my teachers selected my subjects. But when I graduated to class 11 and 12, I selected the papers. I took one or two papers and took an year to   clear the exams,” he said. 

“I listened to lectures in class which my mother used to revise at home,” he says. Freelance Special Educator Anu Alex says that the ability to pick up the syllabus differs from child to child. 

Those who can appear in regular school exams gradually move and appear for the board exams like everyone else. However, very few schools in the city are willing to take in such students. The schools mostly use the Samcheer kalvi syllabus but use pictures for teaching and this helps the ward grasp the content. 

Anu cited the example of a student who found her way to a regular school and college even as she couldn’t move her limbs. 

‘She communicated with just her eyes. She pointed the eyes to a direction to convey what she wanted. She graduated in Commerce from a private college, she said.