Chennai: Here is a youngster, who despite diagnosed with dyslexia as a child, with the right guidance and support of parents, who are both doctors, battled the odds and is now an aspiring doctor. The youngster is the daughter of Dr B Vijayalakshmi, who specialises in dermitology.
Speaking about her daughter, she said ”We were a happy family of three with my husband, who is an ENT surgeon, daughter and I. When my daughter was in second grade. I had just finished my post-graduation and was eager to set up my own practice. I paid attention to the studies of my daughter and noticed some difficulty in making her learn. As days went by I began to notice more problems. Her writing was slow and she could not spell few words. She could not sit in one place for more than few minutes and became addicted to television. She would refuse to go to school and would not eat her lunch. I found it extremely difficult to teach her and make her study. Study time became a nightmare for both of us. It was through a friend that I came to know about Madras Dyslexia Association.”
After taking her daughter for checkup, it was confirmed that she was diagnosed with Dyslexia and Attention Deficit Disorder. The parents soon assigned a special educator and gave her occupational therapy. This helped her improve her academics.
”Learning session became less tiresome. Her social skills improved drastically as she began to have more friends and enjoyed school. Her marks in school also began to improve,” said Dr Vijayalakshmi.
Just when the daughter became comfortable she was put into another school which was the State board.
”Her remedial sessions continued here and it took some time for her to adjust to her new environment. But, gradually she began to accept the change and her remedial classes became shorter and less frequent. She began to learn on her own ways when she reached seventh grade as there was no need for a personal trainer,” said Vijayalakshmi.
”She managed to secure 80 per cent marks in Tenth board exams and took Sciene group in Plus One in order to become a doctor. She completed schooling with 74 per ecent marks. But NEET posed a big problem to get an admission and she failed in the first attempt”, said the mother.
This failure soon paved the way for depression.
”She would stay all day long in a dark room. Her only company was her mobile. It was then, my friend, who also happens to be a mother of Dyslexic child came to our help. She would counsel my daughter at length regarding her future career,” recalled the mother.
”My daughter was firm in her decision to do medicine and we decided to give it another try. She was treated by a psychiatrist and was put on anti depressants and concentration improving drugs. In the meantime, my friend would also motivated her and gave me courage to face all difficulties arising out of my daughters decision to choose medicine. My daughter finally cleared NEET with a decent score of 208 and she got admission in a private medical college,” said Vijayalakshmi.
”Adult Dyslexia needs to be managed. We as parents should be more encouraging and have confidence in our children. We should have a strong network and support system to derive strength among ourselves,” she concluded.