3 from Madurai selected for Special Olympics

MADURAI: Muthu Kumar, a student of Bethshan Special School in Madurai, has been selected to participate in the Special Olympic Games to be held in Los Angeles in June, 2015. He will play in the Indian volleyball team. Muthu Kumar, who suffers from a mild mental disorder, is the third student to be selected to participate in an international competition from this institution.
Jomes Merlin was selected in 2013 for International Bocce Sports, a ball sport which involves passing of wooden balls.Another student P Nhalu was selected for Floor Hockey.
Ravi Kumar, principal of Bethshan Special School, said, "Currently we have 60 students studying in our school. The students admitted in our school fall under three categories of mental retardation: mild, moderate and severe. We regularly provide them with baseline assessment training. This trains children to perform tasks such as holding a pencil, buttoning up their shirts and walking."
"In addition to this, we also help them in sharpening their basic skills by playing sports like volleyball and badminton during the evenings. We recently realized that Muthu had a special ability in volleyball and we took it further. Now, Muthu goes to Race Course for physical exercise training needed for volleyball in the mornings. He has his own special trainer who is committed to bringing out the best from Muthu," said Ravi Kumar.
In 2013, Muthu Kumar stood second at the National Special Olympic Games held in Gujarat. "He was the first one selected from Tamil Nadu state," said Ravi Kumar. Six were selected during the games in Gujarat.
Muthu's mother B Sundari said, "My son met with a major head injury in the year 2007 by slipping on the bathroom floor which led to his memory loss. Since then he has been suffering from mild mental retardation, but we admitted him in a normal school until standard five. Soon we realized that he was unable to cope up and hence we admitted him in Bethshan Special School."
"It is important for parents to understand their children who are suffering from mental disorder. They need special care unlike other children. Such children deal with a number of problems like difficulties in reading, speech and moving. Sometimes parents also face difficulty in understanding what their child needs, since children suffering from such disorders are often unable to express themselves. We then provide counselling to the parents and help the child grow with proper care", said Shankar.