Helping Disabled Children in Montserrat
26 August 2004
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| "These children do not understand what their problems are..." |
Sreelata Ghosh Choudhury, a trained psychologist and counsellor from India, took up the post of Special Needs Teacher at Brades Primary School in Montserrat in September 2003.
Mrs Choudhury works with nine children aged six to 15. The disabilities she is addressing include autism, cerebral palsy, Down's Syndrome and hyperactivity.
"These children do not understand what their problems are. They sometimes do things that society does not accept. Part of my job is to modify their behaviour so that they can integrate better with their communities."
She has assessed the capabilities of each child and designed individual learning programmes to suit their needs. She communicates with parents and guardians, other support agencies and medical officials to ensure that the non-educational needs of her pupils are also being met.
Mrs Choudhury has encouraged the children to engage in extra-curricular and sports activities to promote healthy living and self-esteem. In July, they participated at the 2004 Special Olympics Caribbean Games in Kingston, Jamaica. The students brought home several medals including two golds and two silvers after competing with children from 14 other Caribbean states.
"I am very pleased with their achievements in all areas. I started by teaching them the first letters of the alphabet. But now they can read and write their own names, the days of the week, the names of animals, and count up to 50," she said.
Montserrat was hit by a devastating volcanic eruption in 1995. After the disaster, local special needs teachers relocated overseas. Consequently, all children of primary school age had to attend two schools on the island, neither of which had specially trained teachers to coach children with learning difficulties. Mrs Choudhury is training a Montserratian teacher, Dawn Daley, to take over her duties next September, when her assignment ends.
Mrs Choudhury was sent to Montserrat on a Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation project.
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