We also are intolerant of differences in children and don’t realise that like the five fingers in the hand, children are also different. They have different strengths and different interests and cannot all be put into the same straitjacket. Children march to varied tunes and need to be lauded and loved for what they can achieve. It is important to imbue in every child the feeling of security that he is loved and appreciated for what he is and not for what he is expected to be. He must be cocooned in the unconditional love of his family.

In our society, differently-abled children are given short shrift. Firstly, we need to understand that all children with developmental problems cannot be labelled together. As with bodily ailments, these deficiencies have a wide spectrum and are of varying degrees of severity and need appropriate strategies to help children deal with them. They are a part of society and are entitled to a happy childhood like everyone else. With sensitive handling and development of their strengths, they will also grow into useful members of society. It is important to bolster self-esteem and get them ready to “go forth unafraid”. As a society we need to mature and accept disabilities as a part of the rhythm of human life and not as a thing apart. It is this stigma that is attached to a ‘different’ child that sends parents into denial and prevents them from seeking help at the earliest.

When the Learning Centre in a school is referred to, the instant reaction is, “it is a place for the retarded”. Why should the word retarded be used in such a pejorative manner? Is it a crime? It never fails to amaze me that even highly educated parents often object if their children are made to study with the differently-abled. If Ishaan in the movie had received the right kind of help when he was younger, how much of misery he would have been saved. There are hundreds of Ishaans out there crying for help. With the help of such movies and by using the power of the media we need to bring about an attitudinal change in society.

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