Imparting special education to rural & poor students

Special education – Ritham Special School began operating in 2004. Although it began with only four children in 2004, it now has more than 85 pupils enrolled. Mr. P. S. Kathiresan, the founder, is a retired Tamil Nadu headmaster who was named ‘Best Teacher’ by both the Central Government and the Tamil Nadu state government. He and his son, Mr. K. Venkataramanan, developed and founded ‘Ritham Special School’.

The charity provides special education, physiotherapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy to cognitively challenged children as well as children with various impairments such as autism, Down syndrome, and cerebral palsy.  This is a daycare center where pupils are picked up and dropped off at their homes.

They have also been working for the past 20 years to make effective special education available to rural, impoverished, and underprivileged special students, equivalent to what is provided to children in metropolitan areas.

The Trust’s main and major goal is to instill confidence in the minds of all sorts of physically and intellectually challenged children and push them to confront everyday routines without assistance. The Trust works for all students, regardless of caste, race, color, language, gender, or religion.

Special education

The majority of the students at the school come from low-income homes. Because of their parents’ illiteracy, many children do not receive appropriate attention from their families. They are often youngsters who are somewhat to seriously impacted. After starting school, the youngsters demonstrate great development in many categories.

These children’s education and training differ greatly from that of other youngsters. Their curriculum must contain topics such as self-reliance, politeness, discussion, and daily activities. Their level of intelligence and behavioral issues must be taken into account while developing their curriculum. While developing the curriculum, their family environment must also be considered. Because there is no safe way to teach these youngsters, each child is in his or her own class, requiring individual care.

Sri S. HariPrasath began his education in English medium. In 2006, his instructor advised that he receive special education at our special school since he was having problems studying. The expert instructor thoroughly analyzed him and determined that he had a moderate learning impairment problem. As a result, they designed the curriculum around his reading and math abilities. Following that, the student was reviewed every three months, and the curriculum was restructured accordingly. He learned quickly since he was taught in an easy-to-understand manner. The teacher saw substantial growth in his learning in all three evaluations and continued to structure the curriculum accordingly. Because of his tireless efforts, he made tremendous improvement in his writing, reading, and math.Another case study is the tale of I. Guruvaiya, a student in his native village who was attending primary school. Because the instructor saw certain changes in his learning and actions, he advised his parents to enroll him at the Ritham School for Special Children so that he could continue his education. Following that, on July 13, 2007, he enrolled at Ritham School and so benefited from the specialized curriculum.  His parents taught him how to plant saplings, water, weed, and construct bunds based on their agricultural expertise. He was assigned the task of irrigating, weeding, and maintaining the plants on the new school grounds.

In this approach, the school assists students with exceptional needs in leading a dignified life and supporting themselves.

Another case study is the story of a student named I. Guruvaiya was studying in the primary school in his native village. Since the teacher observed some changes in his learning and activities, he told his parents to admit him to the Ritham School for special children to continue his education. Thereafter from 13th July 2007 onwards, he joined Ritham school and hence has benefited from the specialized syllabus.  Based on their farming experience his parents gave him training in planting saplings, irrigation, weeding, and bund forming. He was given the job of irrigating the plants of the new school campus, weeding, and maintenance of the same.

This way the school is helping children with special needs lead a dignified life and support themselves on their own.