Timely treatment can help dyslexics, says expert

What is common between Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison and Lewis Carroll?

Besides the fact that they were all famous thinkers and personalities, all of them suffered from some form of dyslexia. While it might be one of the most common forms of learning disorders, dyslexia may often go unnoticed for years, according to Breaking Through Dyslexia president and co-founder Divya Jalan, whose Kolkata-based NGO caters to the dyslexics.

“Timely remedial measures and steps to boost the confidence and morale of the dyslexic children is most important to treat the disorder,” she said during an interaction with Deccan Herald ahead of a talk and presentation on the subject that was conducted by the NGO.

According to a survey carried out by National Council of Education Research and Training, as many as eight to 14 per cent children in India are dyslexic. However, according to Jalan, there are not many centres offering remedial measures.

“In my experience, there are as many as three to five students in a class who suffer from various forms of dyslexia, ranging from mild to severe,” she said. Jalan, herself a parent of a dyslexic child, whom she considers the inspiration behind the NGO she started, said she realised that her daughter, Ishita Jalan, was suffering from the disorder when she was in Class II.

“By the time she reached Class VI, she was failing in all her subjects – maths, chemistry, social science. There were also not many resource centres to treat her condition. Since we had the resources, we sent her to a boarding school in the UK with facilities to treat her.

When she came back in two months, it was a complete turnover,” Jalan said. Having graduated in chemistry from the University of Manchester, Ishita is now pursuing her Master’s degree from Rochester Institute of Technology.

Spreading awareness

Breaking Through Dyslexia aims at spreading awareness about and help anyone who is suffering from the disorder. It also plans to co-ordinate with various organisations even in Bengaluru. “We would like to first fully establish our resource centre in Kolkata and then reach out to people in small towns and cities and then Bengaluru, Delhi and other metros,” she said.