Should Indian schools include check-ups for students in case of suspected learning disorders:-

Learning disabilities like Dyscalculia or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may occur due to genetic or neurobiological factors that alter the brain’s functioning in a manner that one is unable to learn basic skills such as reading, writing or perform mathematical calculations and processing.

According to the 2019 “State of the Education Report for India: Children with Disabilities”reports and by the 2011 Census Report, about 78,64,636 children in India have learning disabilities which constitutes upto 1.7 percent of the total children in the country. It is seen that only about 61 percent of the total children who have learning disabilities among all the children aged 11-19 years are attending secondary schooling with an impending dropout rate. Children with such learning disabilities deserve to be treated and not discriminated. They often fall prey to frustration, anxiety, and depression as they are reportedly taunted and ridiculed by the other children and even discouraged by their teachers.

Indian education system provides special funding and arrangements for the treatment of the physically disabled students. However, no such segregation and counseling sessions are provided for students with learning disabilities.

Often parents themselves do not wish their children to undergo counseling treatments. This is due to an inherent taboo that’s prevalent in the society about learning disabilities which are not granted as much priority as physical disabilities. On the contrary, these symptoms are often more detrimental to a child than even physical deformities.

These children must be segregated and treated in separate institutions set up primarily for the intellectually disabled. Parents themselves should be counselled and made to understand the fact that a learning disability isn't a humiliation or an embarrassment and may very well be coped with if cooperation and support are provided to these children.

When treated in counseling centres, children are valued and encouraged by their counsellors which forms a major part of the treatment. This, in itself, extraordinarily improves the children’s fortitude, and enables them to be their best versions. Counselling programme for children with learning disabilities also include treatment such as child cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or talk therapy which help to cure particular areas of difficulty and develop specialized learning plans and strategies. Occupational therapy can be helpful to children who experience difficulty with motor skills, while educational therapists work with school-aged individuals to improve skills in reading, writing, and math.

Sometimes one might fear becoming labelled by the society as 'disabled' or worry that plans for their future and potential careers may be impacted in this process. However, the earliest at which such problems are identified and dealt with through counselling and therapy, the more efficient and promising their future would preferably be. Just as the famous saying goes, “Every cloud has a silver lining.”,these children are not ‘dis-abled’ but ‘specially-abled’ and are highly potential to overcome their limitations.