All Together - In My Giggle Garden

Integrated or inclusive education has been around for quite some time now. In fact, the Government of India launched the Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC) scheme in December 1974. It was a Centrally Sponsored Scheme aimed at providing equal educational opportunities to children with special needs in regular schools and to facilitate their achievement and see to it that they do not drop out or give up easily.

In my preschool and daycare, we have had stints with few special needs children. The one child in our preschool has been with us for more than 2 years now. The parents have gone through a lot of challenges so that the child can get the best, and I am sure very happy that they decided our school is the best for their child. Her father travels nearly 60 kms on bike for his work everyday. It was easy for them to shift to a place near to his work, but they decided to stay back and give their child exposure in regular school.

Why our school is considered different from any other preschool which they could have chosen? Being a mom of special needs child myself, I have close hand experience with children with special needs, besides professional experience. I have worked very hard to include my daughter in all activities, giving her some good friendships and exposure to events and programs so that she will feel one among us. Yet, she feels she is different.

That has been an inspiration for me to start 'My Giggle Garden' where I want everyone to work together. I put in a lot of effort to make the parents understand the issue and solution to it, encourage children to be friendly with everyone, ask all children to help me in little tasks and ensure that no child is treated differently. We in Giggle Garden, work together.

Though initially the child with special needs and other children and parents had some problems, soon things started running smoothly. The child learned a lot through observation and other children started showing extra care and love. What amazes me is that, I did not have to anything much other than acting as a catalyst and providing few guidelines. The rest was taken over by the children and they adapted to the classroom easily. They all sing, dance, learn and play together without any differentiation between them.

When we adults in the preschool do not treat anyone differently, but give tasks and work equally to everyone, the children also start following the same pattern. Once they learn to treat everyone as their equal at this age, it becomes very easy for them to continue being that way in future as well.

The change I hope for is not a small dream which middle class people like me dare to dream, but I know someday, even if a tiny one, I will bring about a change. I will give it my all and will know that tried.