Aarti joined Latika Nanhe at the age of four. Diagnosed with Diaplegic Spastic Cerebral Palsy, she was as cute as a button and blessed with a supportive family consisting of her parents (her father is a gardener and her mother a homemaker), a younger brother, grandparents, chacha-chachi and several cousins. But in spite of the enabling home environment, Aarti was weak, physically limited, and emotionally anxious. She drooled, kept her head down and seemed to lack motivation.
Latika’s multi-disciplinary team worked hand-in-hand with her parents to improve Aarti’s diet, posture and confidence. The results were remarkable! Aarti began to sit up straight, walk with support and participate happily in games, lessons and other activities at Nanhe. Seeing the transformation in their daughter, her parents’ dream was now to send her to a mainstream school.
When everyone on her team (her family, special educator, therapists, and counselor) agreed she was ready, the Wabi-Sabi team started the process of crafting a plan for Aarti to go to school.
Wabi-Sabi is Latika’s school inclusion program. The name comes from the Japanese philosophy that sees the beauty in imperfection, recognizing that it is our quirks and differences which make us all so interesting. An inclusion plan for any child begins with a series of conversations with the family to understand exactly what they are looking for in a school. Once a school is selected (in Aarti’s case based on affordability, distance from home and overall vibe), the Wabi-Sabi team works closely with the school to ensure that it is prepared to welcome the child and ensure her success.
Sometimes this is effortless; sometimes it requires diplomacy and persuasion, occasionally we may even have to resort to a bit of pressure. Often, given a school’s limitations or lack of confidence, compromises must be made. In Aarti’s case, the school insisted that her mother attend school too as there was no ayah to take her to the toilet or support her physically. Her mum was so committed to the process that she agreed to this and for the next 18 months she was there at the school premises every day, ready to do whatever was required to further Aarti’s education.
Aarti’s personality and eagerness to learn makes her popular both with teachers and the other children. She makes friends easily and is not only included in playground games but also invited to birthday parties (a key indicator!). In the last school play, she even bagged the lead role (Naniji)! Her family is so proud of her and amazed by all she has accomplished.
There are still challenges however. School inclusion is in its infancy here in India and many hurdles remain - too many to describe in this short note. One important lesson we have learned, however, bears repeating in any conversation about disability and education: inclusion happens one child at a time. While we do have a clear process, a system and a toolkit, each child, each family and each school is different.
The day will surely come when every child’s right to education is taken for granted but for now it is ek step, ek school, ek parivar, ek bacchha (one family, one kid) at a time.
