Cracking their Code

By Rinky Kumar

Published: Volume 15, Issue 3, March, 2007

Slow learners often struggle on the fringes of a competitive educational system. Having experienced their problems first-hand when her sons were diagnosed with the learning disorder, Mumbai-based Kate Currawalla now strives to rehabilitate young minds into the mainstream. Rinky Kumar interacts with the dedicated president of the Maharashtra Dyslexia Association

If I can't learn the way you teach, will you teach me the way I can learn?" Simple, yet profound, this statement voices the innermost fears and feelings of a dyslexic child. When I enter the building at Parel that houses the Maharashtra Dyslexia Association (MDA), these are the first words I see written on a board. Little do I know that they will reverberate in my mind long after I have interviewed 51-year-old Kate Currawalla, the president of MDA.

At MDA, Currawalla strives to create an awareness about dyslexia, a neuro-developmental disorder that affects the language and social skills of a child. MDA conducts workshops, training programmes for parents, teachers, students and psychologists. Apart from offering regular remedial assistance to those diagnosed as slow learners, it also works closely with the state government to implement provisions conducive for the progress of these affected children.

Behind Currawalla's genial smile is a woman who has faced many trials and tribulations, several times in her life. She accepted with fortitude the grave challenge of rearing her two children, both of whom were afflicted with dyslexia, ensuring that they had a good, formal education and a successful career.

Destiny had quite an unusual turn of events in store for this erstwhile freelance journalist and shortfilm maker. After completing her graduation from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, and acquiring a post-graduate diploma in mass communications, Currawalla started working at Doordarshan. She also worked as a freelancer on radio programmes with the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Recalling that experience, she says, "I enjoyed working on a series that focussed on dispelling the stereotypes that the West had about developing countries." Apart from this, she also made some documentaries and was the assistant director, research and script-writer for renowned film historian, B D Garga.

Ask her about what prompted her to take up journalism and Currawalla says, "I was interested in the subject. I always wanted to use the audio-visual medium to make society aware of education related issues." It is not surprising then that today she is striving to provide help and assistance to dyslexics.

She got closely associated with the cause after tragedy struck home and her elder son, Murad, was diagnosed with dyslexia at a young age. Like most parents, Currawalla too was completely unaware that her child was suffering from this learning disability. "Murad was a happy, intelligent and enthusiastic child. During his pre-primary days at Bombay International School, there was a delayed growth in his hand-eye coordination and in his ability to write. But my husband and I didn't find it unusual," she says. Currawalla understood her child's plight only when she told him that he would soon start class I. Murad's reaction was far different from what she had expected. She says, "He said, 'Please don't send me back to school.' He had realised that he would be unable to cope with whatever was taught to him."

Currawalla noticed that Murad would draw inverted images and write from the right corner of the page. He also couldn't construct words properly. He was often teased by his classmates. Those were trying times for both Murad and his family. Recalling a 'painful episode' that occurred when her son was in class IV, Currawalla says, "I was working in the school library. After the bell rang, many students ran towards me and said, 'Aunty, Murad has got a zero in the spelling test.' I was embarrassed. My son avoided me and ran away. Later, I realised that the incident must have been so traumatic for him."

When he was in middle school, Murad became withdrawn, quiet and tense. Luckily, his teachers were quite compassionate and understanding. A special educator conducted remedial lessons for Murad. She would use unconventional methods and teach him to track the page, detect alphabets and blend words and sounds. Currawalla, on her part, would read out passages and help him overcome his fallacies. She also encouraged him to become a member of the Rotaract Club. With her able assistance and his determination, he scored a first class in HSC and graduation. Today, 24-year-old Murad is pursuing a course in computer animation and special effects in the United States. He still finds reading difficult and frustrating; it arouses anxiety within him but as Currawalla confesses he has learnt to live with it.

Recounting her experience while handling Murad, she says, "When an educational psychologist conducted tests and it was confirmed that my son had a learning disability, we were not quite shocked. There are many people in my in-laws' family who suffer from dyslexia. In fact, my husband, Mehernosh, who runs a shipping business, also has this disability."

But since in the earlier days, little was known about dyslexia, Mehernosh was often labelled as lazy. He was always amongst the last rank holders in class. As Currawalla confesses, "Studying was a big pain for him. He had to repeat his first year of college. However, he was quite good in sports and represented his school in boxing, swimming and athletics."

Currawalla says dyslexics are usually independent, hardworking and good entrepreneurs. They devise their own strategies unconsciously to cope with difficult situations. She says, "Mehernosh uses a dark, bold pen and has big handwriting. This helps him to decipher words easily. Various tasks that require him to deal with words and figures like filling out a form, writing cheques are passed on to his assistants. Initially, even Murad would face problems while filling out various forms in the US. But once he was explained the contents, he no longer found it difficult."

Currawalla's younger son, Rashid also has a learning disability. But she was less anxious about him as after coping with Murad, she had a fair idea of how to deal with a dyslexic. After completing his graduation, 22-year-old Rashid is now assisting his father in the family business.

While helping her two sons battle dyslexia and striving to give a direction to their lives, Currawalla also found a purpose in her life. Since she was always interested in educational issues, she soon got involved and started creating an awareness about this disability. Elaborating her association with the cause, she says, "In 1995, I had accompanied some school teachers and parents of dyslexic children to New Delhi for a seminar on the learning disability. We met a special educator who helped us get in touch with the educational director of the British Dyslexia Association, Dr Lindsay Peer. We invited her to organise a three-day workshop in Mumbai." They got a stupendous response for the event.

It was then that Currawalla and parents of 10 other students, who suffered from this disability, decided to set up an NGO to disseminate information about this lesser known disability. In 1996, they set up MDA and started conducting workshops for parents and teachers. Later, they acquired a premise in Deonar and developed it into a training centre. Today, MDA has three centres around Mumbai and a team of 20 people comprising psychologists, special educators and professionals. In fact, the International Dyslexia Association has invited MDA to become its global partner to combat this learning disability. It focusses on three major areas - advocacy, direct services and providing training to teachers and psychologists. It provides diagnostic and remedial facilities for children and young adults. It also has a research unit to undertake research projects and develop appropriate teaching and testing material suited to the needs of the local population. Workshops are conducted across the country to educate teachers and psychologists on how to handle students with dyslexia.

Currawalla confesses that it is a tough job to deal with these traumatised students. Her team has to be loving, caring and patient with the students. "These kids are usually abused by their peer group and society at large, so they become nervous and panicky. We focus on building their self-image and restoring their confidence. We teach them the fundamentals of the language using unconventional methods like games. It might seem easy for us but for them it is a Herculean task." After a long, hard day, Currawalla does yoga and listens to western classical music to unwind.

Ask her what is the most significant change she would like to witness in society and she says, "I would like to see a much more open, accommodating education system that provides a lot of benefits and opportunities to dyslexic children." I wonder how does she constantly motivate herself to work for this cause. But Currawalla confesses that there are times when she gets exhausted and experiences desperate moments. "On several occasions, I wonder how long we have to strive for this cause. Just when I feel that a solution has been found to improve the situation, I realise that a lot still needs to be done," she says.

But there have been some sweet, cherishable moments that have made this cause worth living for. As Currawalla reminisces, "Each milestone my sons have achieved in their lives has been a memorable moment for me." The most gratifying compliment for this woman with nerves of steel was when a parent approached her after a workshop and told her, "Now I know why God gave you such a difficult life because he wanted you to help other children." And with that closing remark, this lone ranger who has shown tremendous grit, determination and perseverance, sets out on another journey to give a new lease of life to many children.