City to host programme to help understand life of dyslexic kids

The initiative that is beginning this weekend, organised in association with Writer’s Café, aims to provide an experience of how a person with dyslexia views the world and an understanding of how difficult it is for them to navigate in a world that does not comprehend them. 

During the one-month period, the menu cards would be reworked to have alphabets in reverse – which is one of the challenges faced by persons with dyslexia – as an experiential learning for the public to understand the challenges, explained MDA president D Chandrasekhar. Also, there would be specialists stationed at the café for two hours every day during this programme for those who wish to consult experts about the condition, he added. 

“As part of the event, guests at the café can interact with experts from MDA to know more about dyslexia. Also, experts will deliver an awareness talk on dyslexia,” said Chandrasekhar, adding that puppet shows and book reading sessions would also be part of the awareness programme. 

This aside, the customers would be given bookmarks with notes on dyslexia along with the bill while LED screens would be set up to display information on the condition, said a member of the association.

Dyslexic children are different because they think differently, said special educators, noting that the challenges they face during everyday life would be much reduced if general public was understanding and empathetic towards the persons and their problems.

“Dyslexia is not just a learning problem; it is lifelong. When people understand what dyslexia is, they will understand their situation better. Dyslexic people have a lot of positives – they are ‘differently intelligent’. These positives are, however, overlooked in the face of a few negatives. If people empathise and understand how trivial these are, then focus will be on their skills,” said Chandrasekhar, explaining their expectations behind organising the one-month programme.