Ganga’s Disability Story (click to open)
I am trying to put Widgit ©symbol language into the website that is being developed, and this blog. It looks like I may not be able to do it in the blog. But I was able to link a pdf file to the blog and it seems to work.
Ganga knows she has a disability. In fact she knows she has CP, or at least she recognizes anyone else with CP. I know from living and working with her, that sometimes she is very upset that she cannot do what other children can. It is compounded by her constantly being seen in terms of her disability rather than her intellect. The world of children, people, with disabilities easily becomes the world of caretakers. The children sit and listen but cannot talk to each other, nor can they have any influence over the discussion. Ganga wants to be with the older girls. She wants to study with them, listen to their teachers, make comments, and even sometimes be naughty like the others. I founded this home. I live here. I hire the teachers, but still it is hard to make this happen. Ganga is happy with someone reading to her from an encyclopedia but she is often left with the group doing nursery rhymes. I keep trying to find teachers for her, but also trying to balance a situation where some people think I’m out of my mind and imagining her intellect. I’m writing this because it MUST be familiar to others. Most of our struggles are fundamentally quite similar, wherever we are.
Ganga is learning to use a head pointer on the computer. I am short of people who can teach or use computers. Today the special educator was using a real mouse with a child with CP, simply taking her hand and pressing the mouse. I hooked up the switches (I’m the IT dept here too) but then had to stop the teacher from hitting the switch. You have to give the kids time to respond.
The rest of the day was spent dealing with a new crisis with the older girls. They had begun receiving tutoring (called tuition here) in their school after it let out. It’s a common practice. But it seems the principal has forbidden the teacher to teach our children so we had to make other arrangements. I can’t say more. I don’t want the kids kicked out because mom says too much. But if India is serious about corruption, it should start with the educational system which (in my opinion) is far more corrupt than the government and far more serious as the minds and futures of the children are at stake. And it teaches children very early about the power of money and influence.
Ganga looks up to her Didi with CP
Here is the link again to the disability story I wrote for Ganga: Ganga’s Disability Story (click to open if you didn’t before)
It’s 11 at night here and I’m just going to post this and go to sleep.
(Widgit Software a product of www.widgit.com; ©)
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