Dyslexia ADDventures

When I met Vaishnavi* for the first time, she came across as a soft-spoken woman – spry and energetic in her sixties. Her eyes exude kindness and compassion. In reality, this façade props up a woman of steel. She’s a terrific lady. And once you get to know her, you’ll realise she’s a storehouse of knowledge on supporting a child with learning differences, as a parent and as a teacher. Listen to her story of struggle and triumph in her son’s turbulent voyage through school; and how he emerges victorious because his mum believed in him and stood by him. Listen to Vaishnavi's story: *Name changed on request.

We usually hear about occupational therapy (OT) in a certain context: when adults are rehabilitated after a stroke, an accident or complicated surgery. Occupational therapy helps people to learn to do the activities of daily life – self-care and social skills, social interaction, education, work. Why should children with LD/ADHD go through OT? The main occupation of children is to play and learn. Children with LD/ADHD usually have issues with sensory integration, also known as Sensory Processing Disorder which hinders their ability to play and learn. Occupational therapy will help to integrate all the senses. Since we perceive, understand and behave according to what the senses tell us, a breakdown or disturbance in this neural pathway will cause changes in the way we behave. If a child’s auditory (hearing) sense is under stimulated (hypo) the child will not pick up all the sounds she hears. When she listens to a nursery rhyme (Ding, Don...