'It is a myth that past Karma is the reason for having a special child but actually it's the other way around. A special child is the purest form of divinity and it's a special blessing!' says Deepa Mohanraj, a proud mom of a special child and Founder of Kaumaram Prashanthi Academy.
The Kaumaram Prashanthi Academy is a school for children's with special needs in Coimbatore. Deepa Mohanraj and Annapoorna Jayaram, who are proud mothers to kids with special needs are the pillars of this special academy.
Everyday is a special day at Kaumaram Prashanthi Academy, as they instill hope and motivation to the special children for taking very little steps to learn something new everyday.
Here's what Deepa Mohanraj shared with Simplicity about the journey of the school so far and how special are children with special needs.
"It was in 2002, I was expecting my second child. I was blessed with a girl baby, whom we named as Richee. Our joyous moments with Richee lasted only for a short span, as my little pie was diagnosed with craniosynostosis, a medical condition that prevented her brain from growing.
The day we knew that this condition is going to hinder our child's growth forever, we as a family collapsed. We couldn't see our baby girl suffer, I was struck in depression for three months. Our little one underwent her first surgery, when she was just 1 year and 7 months old. In tears, I thanked God for the hope he showed for my child and it was then I realized my prayers to God before Richee was born.
'I asked God that my child should be very special and she/he should give back to the society something. These lines kindled my heart and convinced me to believe that I need to do something to this society on behalf of Richee'.
I being a mother to a special kid knew every bit of the difficulty faced by special kids and their parents, it's tormenting! The entire journey is so unpredictable filled with hardships and new challenges popping up every day. Yet the determination and unconditional love for their child is what boosts the parents to fight back for their child's existence, said Deepa.
Deepa continues to explain how she met Annapoorna, who is also one of the Founder of Kaumaram Prashanthi Academy. 'As days went, I met Annapoorna who lived in the same locality and had a 21-year-old daughter Archana suffering from Down Syndrome. Annapoorna was a diploma holder in special education with seven years of experience running a special school in Kuwait. Annapoorna had a vision to start one such school for children with special needs in Coimbatore too. Such identical thoughts and our pragmatic way of approach we chose as mothers of special child bonded us together. We decided to give life to our dreams, since then we started to work towards transforming our school dreams into reality'.
'We started our school in 2006 'Sri Prashanthi Academy' with just three special children, our daughters and another autistic child. But through word of mouth and contacts, parents with such special needs approached us and appreciated our idea. We then shifted our school to NGGO colony for expansion. It was actually my in-laws home, I thank my father in law for helping us by lending his home to run our school. By the, the strength increased by two, we had five children at our school. As days passed by, we gained popularity and had more admissions and inquiries pouring in. We were pushed to look out for a bigger space to accommodate the children'.
'We got land from Kaumaram trust in Chinnavedampatty and we shifted our school in 2013 and we re-named our school as 'Kaumaram Prashanthi Academy'. With more than 100 students, 65 staff members including special educator, communication therapist, occupational therapist, yoga and naturopathy therapist, art therapist, music therapist and now we are now a wonderful big team!', says Deepa.
Talking about special children Deepa shares that these kids have an amazing potential but it's just that they do not know to express it. Understanding their potential and needs is a very crucial step in handling special children. Every child is different from another, before opting for therapy we carefully monitor the child, analyse their strengths and weakness and then decide the fitting therapy for them.
'We admit children from age three. For those children who are lesser than three, we advice the parents to keep them at home and engage them in home activity programmes. Intervention program which focuses on pre-reading skills, basic writing and basic activities such as toileting, clothing themselves and eating are the activities taught to children above three years of age. The childrens' here are admitted after a screening and categorized according to age, curriculum and performance. But we never pick a 10-year-old and put them with a three- year-old boy just because their capabilities are same as it will affect the self-esteem of the older one.
We have children who are non-verbal, so for them the curriculum will be strongly visual. Each class has 10 or 12 students with one special educator who leads the class, with two assistants and a helper to aid them. Many kids from our academy have moved on to normal schools. Moving to normal school doesn’t mean that these kids can grasp like normal kids. They will learn and understand subjects in a slower pace but being with peers will help them gain confidence.
Deepa further shares about the vocational and pre-vocational training being offered at the academy. 'We give them hands-on training in baking, cooking, store keeping, carpentry, mat making etc., Even few of our students were sent to Taj Vivanta to learn baking techniques. We have a provisional store at the academy, where these kids can show case their creations. Close to 55 students have benefited through our pre-vocational sessions'.
The Founders also have plans to conduct inclusion programmes for these special children with regular schools. 'Creating employment opportunities for them, is yet another challenge but needs to be accomplished. And, we grow, we require more funds to provide quality education and create avenues for growth to these children. Our branch at Tirupur has 37 students and 15 staffs. Going forward, we are planning to increase the strength and facilities of the school and we are hopeful that good Samaritans will support our cause.
'Lastly, every parent of such special child should realize how blessed they are and believe that they have been chosen for a purpose. Being patient, positive, and a pragmatic approach by parents towards such special children is the magic wand that will lit the life of those innocent children. And, now my daughter Richee is 13, as always am proud to be her mother', says Deepa with full of zeal.