Thursday Nov 14, 2024
Thursday Nov 14, 2024
Saturday, 5 October 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
like a little ballerina dancing to notes only she can hear.
Dave* watches her while he holds on to a set of wooden farm animals – a cows, hen and a horse. As she takes off, he sets the animals down and rushes across the room enveloping her in a bear hug as she turns around to face him. For a minute she responds, her arms circling him as they slide to the floor together. It is the purest kind of love I have seen. Two children, despite their differences, snap out of a world where outsiders are not welcome to smile at each other and just be.
For me, all this seems too unfair. They are but kids, with hearts full of so much love and limited by feature that have deemed them ‘special’.
But Special Educational Needs Specialist Nilu Perera and her able assistant Sadhani Perera have seen beyond this ‘unfairness’. They recognise how special they are and help bring out the best in them.
As the name goes, they do it ‘At My Pace’ – and by ‘my,’ they mean the children. At My Pace teaches children with special needs to meet their individual capabilities, interests and learning style by identifying individual needs and being responsible for creating a safe, stimulating and supportive learning environment.
Like a careful potter turning the wheel at a pace they are most comfortable with to bring to life beautiful designs, the duo carefully assesses what needs to be done and at a pace with which children are most at ease, they mould them into independent and confident children, overcoming their special barriers to fit in with typical society.
Firsthand experience
Having volunteered to help out at their holiday workshop during the last school holidays, I have brought back nothing but fond memories.
Hashna* is a bundle of excitement. Her hands have a mind of their own, grabbing, pulling, shoving – there seems to be no control. The first day I met her I was sitting cross-legged on the floor talking to a little girl who has learning difficulties. In comes Hashna; she runs around the room and plops herself down next to us. She’s up in a minute, her little hands grabbing my hair. I wait it out, hoping she’ll let go when she’s had enough yanking. But the next thing I know, one of her fingers is in my eye, pushing it in. I was just beginning to picture those horror movies where an eye falls off when Nilu and Sadhani intervened.
Even though for a minute there I was too dumbstruck to do anything, at the end of the workshop, Hashna was my favourite. She knew the words to every Disney song I’ve ever heard and isn’t shy to belt them out at the top of her voice. She is quick and moves with the kind of agility I’ve only seen at the Olympic gymnastics events. She loves the Strawberry Shortcake cartoon. Despite having to remind her to have “calm hands,” she was adorable.
Dave* on the other hand was generous with the hugs and kisses. Very loving, he would just come up to you and hug and smile. Shehan* was the smart one, repeating fact after fact. Born with developmental dyspraxia, he absorbs everything like a sponge.
There were some 10 children, all part of the holiday workshop by At My Pace, and one thing that was evident was how much they loved their teachers and how much of care they had for each other. They were patient when the easily excited ones disrupted their work and ever so willing to help. There was so much of love.
How At My Pace started
Sitting down at the end of the workshop, Nilu noted that all this started with her wanting to study child psychology just to understand her daughter, Ashna who was then three years old.
Having been flying for close to eight years, she quit her job when Ashna was conceived and when she turned three, decided to go back to school. “I was very interested in what I was studying, but not so much the typical side. That is when I went on to study special needs,” she said. While studying child psychology, Nilu worked at The Chitra Lane School on a voluntary basis for five years, dedicating a few hours every day when Ashna was in school to help the children.
“From there I went into special needs. I then started working at Alethea International to build up the Special Unit/Learning Centre, a resource centre where children who are struggling in classes come for special help. I also worked for my lecturer for one-and-a-half years but had to stop due to transportation difficulties.”
It was when she was at home that the requests came to take in students. And in 2011, Nilu started At My Pace with just two kids at her home with the help of her daughter Ashna. “My daughter has helped me immensely. She became very independent and it is because of her that I get to work like this. She is there at every workshop to help. She is like my right hand.”
Today she has 31 kids and a separate area for the children with activities, games and other tools of learning. She works seven days a week, 10 to 11 hours a day, with the first student coming in at 7 a.m. “I love what I do and that is what helps me put in long hours. It is a form of stress-relief for me and often when the children leave I am stuck wondering what to do next. They drive me forward and I love them,” Nilu said.
Children with difficulties
There are different forms of difficulties such as autism, Down’s Syndrome, learning difficulties, children suffering from emotional trauma, difficult behaviour, etc., she explained. While these are the most common areas of challenges, often the children have two or three complications together.
The most common in the students who come to At My Pace are those with behaviour issues and ADHD. “We have also been sent a lot of kids with autism and a lot who are attention deficit and have learning difficulties. These can be triggered at any point of age,” she acknowledged.
“Initially I do a very informal assessment to see where the child is and once I figure it out I start working with the child. While working you find more things, little things that need to be simulated. I deal with all those areas, not just one thing.”
A one hour session is divided into many activities, from thinking, to memory, language, number, etc.
A fun activity and life skill activity such as buttoning shirts, tying shoelaces, working zips, etc., are included in a session. “If I know the child can’t eat, I go to the extent of teaching them that by including that in the session. I don’t only do what is mentioned in the report. We also do something that prepares them for society.”
Workshops and training
In addition to the learning given on a schedule at At My Pace, every school holiday and special holiday (Vesak, Avurudu, Christmas, etc.) Nilu holds special workshops for kids. These workshops include typically growing kids, providing an inclusive education.
She has also started vocational training for young adolescents to accommodate constant inquires on vocational training for young adults with challenges.
Challenges
Having gained popularity due to word of mouth alone, Nilu noted that most parents who bring their children have had the place recommended by clinical psychologists, paediatricians and schools. However, not all parents who bring their children have accepted the challenges. “They send their children maybe because the psychologist sends them or the paediatrician sent them. Some take a lot of time.”
If the parents can accept it, it is much easier, she said, as the development is much faster if both the teacher and the parent work in unison to help the child.
Nilu also maintains a daily report where the day’s progress is recorded for parents. “If they follow it at home, the development is faster; if not it is not enough. Parents have to definitely work very closely with the teacher when there are children with special needs.”
On a broader scale, there is no syllabus for Special Educational Needs Specialists like Nilu to follow. There are no guidelines given and everything done is through hours of research.
“Every kid is different and therefore it is a challenge. We go through research and whatever material we can find to cater to the child. There are a lot of after-work hours involved.”
However now most schools are starting to establish a special unit or learning support unit which is a step in the right direction. She noted that while most Government schools do have a unit, they have difficulty in finding teachers.
“Having a special unit in schools should be a must in my opinion,” Nilu said. “The typical kids also become very caring. At Alethea they used to wait at the gate to carry Shehan’s bag. By involving the typical kids with the children with difficulties, we prepare both sides to be more caring and to get along well. Both parties benefit.”
Close ties
Nilu has enough stories to show of children she has worked with and holds close to her heart. The case of Niro* is a special one. Nilu was first introduced to Niro when she was just one-and-a-half years old. “When she came to me she had already undergone several heart surgeries and had severe learning difficulties. She had a lot of complications and was vegetable-like when she came to us. When you keep her on the chair she would fall off, so I had to hold her and work with her. I still work with her. She is someone I will never forget.”
She continued: “From baby days she has gone through a lot. She hails from a very simple family and I really get involved in her case and it is not just about teaching. I call her whenever I have extra slots and her parents are always keen to bring her in.” Today she talks, reads, writes, walks steadily and does a lot of things. “When she came, she couldn’t even drink. I am so proud of her.”
“I count my blessings every day. These children are all special to me. I love working with them and seeing them progress. My only hope is to expand it further and accommodate more children,” Nilu said.
*names withheld to protect the identity of the children.
