Shreyas H S
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore

Mangalore, Aug 19: A study has revealed that 85 percent of teachers in Mangalore, while aware of terms such as dyslexia, autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), were otherwise ignorant on the subject. The study was conducted by assistant professor Dr Anil Shetty and Dr Sanjeev Rai of Father Muller College, in order to gauge the knowledge quotient of teachers with regard to these three conditions that are commonly found in children today.

Both doctors distributed questionnaires to as many as 320 primary school teachers across 32 primary schools in Mangalore and two in Bantwal taluk. Among the teachers who answered the questionnaires there were those who had attended training sessions tailored to increase their understanding of learning, developmental and behavioral disorders.

Television and books were, as per the study, more instrumental in imparting knowledge on these subjects compared to newspapers. It was found that 92.3 percent of teachers lacked ample knowledge on dyslexia, 83.1 percent on autism and 84 percent on ADHD. It has been suggested that almost 85 percent of the teachers are merely aware of these terminologies.

With respect to dyslexia which is a reading disability, 16.6 percent of the teachers seemed to have come across students who seemed to have the disorder. Among those interviewed only 7.7 percent of the teachers had undergone formal training on the techniques of dealing with and helping a dyslexic child.

About 29 percent of the teachers showed a good understanding of ADHD, with almost 9 percent who had attended training sessions on the subject and up to 27 percent who reported that they had come across students who had displayed the condition. Of those who had been trained there were 18.1 percent who had suspected the prevalence of autism among students.

Although many willingly encouraged the organizing of training programs with regards to these three conditions, those willing to attend were few and far between. 73.3 percent (autism), 67 percent (ADHD) and 66.6 percent (dyslexia) expressed willingness to take part in the training program if conducted.

The primary reason to carry out the study was to measure prevalent awareness and knowledge on these important issues. This is imperative in order to prevent students who suffer any one of these disabilities to be regarded as slow learners and therefore treated poorly.

According to Dr Anil, such students are scolded and treated harshly which would leave a lasting and negative impression on their young minds. These early impressions can go on impact these children in the long term. Early identification, on the other hand would help the child and the teacher.

A trained teacher would be able to use different techniques to help the child improve their learning skills. He said the study shows how essential it is to focus on these disabilities in a nation where such students are commonly pushed into oblivion.