Mandatory Screening for Learning Disability at schools

Ashwini Nair

The Bombay High Court has directed all schools to screen children for Learning Disabilities (LD) from age nine to ensure detection at an early age.

According to a bench of Justices V. M. Kanade and Anil Menon, the objective of the order is to ensure that all children undergo the tests prescribed under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, to aid early detection and remediation. The mandate is intended to direct schools to promote and facilitate inclusive education.

The Court has further directed schools and educational institutions to keep the records of students identified with LD confidential, asserting that such information is not to be made public.

The HC order can help ensure that students don’t face the trauma of failure due to lack of awareness. Early detection can help reduce psychological suffering since it would ensure that students with Learning Disability get the necessary professional assistance as well as support at home. Maintaining confidentiality will further ensure that such students are not discriminated against.

A challenge that most schools would face is the volume of tests to be conducted given the total number of children enrolled vs. the lack of specially trained resources. To address this challenge, the court has recommended that schools examine students who have shown inconsistent or consistently poor performance.

It is also essential to choose the appropriate tools for screening and be sensitive to their limitations and the complexity of learning issues to guard against false negatives or positives. The HC order is a huge step in the right direction. The NBRC’s newly launched, open-source screening tool from DALI (Dyslexia Assessment for Languages of India) in English, Hindi, Marathi and Kannada has come at just the right time to provide professionals and institutions with a much needed resource, but large scale studies must also be taken up to develop workable procedures and build capacity.

www.facebook.com/mdadyslexia

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Maharashtra Dyslexia Association

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A not-for-profit organisation committed to building an integrated support system for individuals with Dyslexia. www.mdamumbai.com

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