15 students with dyslexia soar in SSC 2016 results

In a real-life rendition of the 2007 movie, Taare Zameen Par (inspirational story of a dyslexic child who finds his true calling), more than 15 dyslexic students of Swami Vivekanand High School affiliated to Vivekanand Education Society (VES), Chembur, scored more than 80 per cent marks in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination. The results of the statewide exams, conducted on March 2016 were announced on Monday.

Cynthia Dawson, principal, Swami Vivekanand High School, dedicated the success of the children towards their grit, hard work and determination to succeed against any odds. She further added that right from the start of the academic year, the children were steadfast in their studies and did not miss out on any lessons and teachers of the school took extra efforts in explaining the finer points of each subject, which helped students ingrain a deeper understanding of each topic and sub-topic.

“Students were made to solve question papers of former academic years in mock exams which not only helped enhance their concentration power but also helped them ready for the competitive pressure ahead,” said Ms Dawson. Teachers of the school said that sound technically advanced methodology of imparting lessons to its pupils through visual aids proved to be beneficial in remembering the lesson over a long-term period and improvement of the grasping ability of the students.

Attributing his success to his teachers and their steadfast attention to the students, Jay Fofaliya a student with dyslexia, who scored 86.80 per cent in the SSC exams said, “Teachers from our school are the epitomes of diligence, hard-work and commitment. Each teacher gave dyslexic students like me individual attention during the course of the academic year. We were made to solve lots of question papers from previous years as well as special papers, which were set by our teachers. These exercises not only honed our academic skills but also helped to understand each subject in-depth and led to us getting good marks in the exams.”

Dr Sharmila Banwat, child and youth psychiatrist at Nanavati Super Speciality hospital, talking about the success of the children, stressed on providing writers with normal intelligence levels for dyslexic students in their exams and a stimulating environment wherein dyslexic students would be encouraged to pursue a normal academic career and life.

“Dyslexia is commonly known as a reading disorder and is characterized by reading trouble inspite of the person possessing normal intelligence. The disorder affects different people in varying degrees. Problems include difficulties in spelling words, quick reading of sentences, writing words, spelling words in the head, pronunciation problems when reading words loudly and understanding what has been read,” said Dr Banwat.