A Spot on the Wall
Nidhi gulped her breakfast down with a sense of listlessness that got amplified manifold in the stony silence that filled the drawing room . But there was nothing unusual about the morning, for this was pretty much the scenario in Sharma household every weekday morning when Nidhi, the eight year old apple of Rajnish and Shalini’s eye, who also happened to be a non speaking autistic, got ready to head to Empower International School , armed with a shadow teacher in tow.
Many of Shalini’s friends believed that the Sharmas had achieved nothing short of a coup by securing admission in a mainstream school for their daughter. What Nidhi felt about going to school everyday was a different story altogether . School was too much of everything ; too noisy , too bright , too crowded and the cafeteria was too smelly . But most of all, school was way too lonely . In the beginning, most kids in Nidhi’s class would wish her ‘Hi’, hoping she would respond . But over time, they stopped doing it, for they got no response from her . It was the same story with the teachers . As for her shadow teacher’s well meaning attempt to holding Nidhi’s hand and making her write, the mere thought of it made her wince in pain . In short, Nidhi felt like a spot on a clean white wall, while at school . Everyone knew about her existence , but the fact that she existed made absolutely no difference to anyone .
‘Will you be coming to the speech therapy centre today evening Rajnish?’, asked Shalini, breaking the silence ‘the therapist wants to talk to us about introducing a text-to-speech app for Nidhi’
This remark caught Nidhi’s attention . Did it mean that her therapist would not insist on her repeating sounds and words anymore? Heaven knew she could not do it, no matter how hard she tried.
Six Months Later
Neha sat nibbling on her breakfast , her mind filled with excitement and trepidation in equal measure . It was six months since she was first introduced to a text-to-speech app on her iPad and she had learnt to type and express herself in simple short phrases and today was the big day that she was taking the iPad to her school for the first time ever .
‘All set Nidhi?’, asked Rajnish, ‘are you feeling excited ?’
‘Yeah’, typed Nidhi, ‘excited , nervous’
‘Don’t worry’, said Shalini in a reassuring tone, ‘you have this covered . Besides Riya ma’am, your shadow teacher, is always there to help.’
Soon Nidhi reached school and headed straight to her class ; Class 3B which, Nidhi believed ,was the loudest class on the floor . It was just another regular day and the scene that greeted her was a familiar one . The class teacher was yet to arrive . Ahaan and his friends were running around in reckless abandon .Riddhi, as usual , had a lot to say and say , she did , to the group of kids surrounding her and they, in turn , were listening to her with rapt attention . Nidhi walked in and felt the familiar feeling of anxiety rise with volcanic force . Riya ma’am quickly pulled the noise cancelling headphones and handed it to Nidhi, who wore it and promptly headed to her place , which was right next to Zooni- the girl who loved the sound of her own voice . Nidhi placed her iPad on the desk and sat down, all the white intently looking at Zooni with the hope that she would greet her . Zooni, who was slurping water from her bottle loudly, continued to do so , oblivious to Nidhi’s presence. Riya ma’am patted the iPad and said , ‘Nidhi, use this .’
Nidhi took a deep breath to calm her racing heart and typed, ‘Hi Zooni’
‘Did you just say hi to me on the iPad’, said a visibly surprised Zooni when she heard the digital voice call out her name, her eyes as big as saucers.
‘Yes. I talk with this’, typed Nidhi.
‘Yay’ yelled an excited Zooni and shouted on top of her voice for the class to her, ‘Nidhi is talking on her iPad. See, she is talking!’
Nidhi smiled, the brightest and widest smile that she could manage as she typed , ‘Hi everyone’
Inclusion is never a one size fits all. It surely does not end with having a child who is ‘different’ in the class. If any, it just begins there. True inclusion begins when every child in the class, irrespective of their ‘needs’ , feels seen ; something that can be achieved only if every child has a voice. Here’s hoping that I am leaving you, my reader, with some food for thought.
– By Aditi Sowmyanarayan
