IIT Madras to host national symposium for children with learning disabilities

NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) will be hosting the national symposium for children with learning disabilities. The Madras Dyslexia Association (MDA) will be holding the event on the IIT Madras campus on January 21 and 22, 2023.

The event intends to highlight a multi-pronged approach to intervention for special children. The approach will enable children with dyslexia to internalize, practice and adopt the coping strategies. According to a press release, the current interventions are ineffective and need to be in sync and administered regularly with a system of feedback to make need-based changes.

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Experts with practical experience in the field have been invited to address the symposium and create an understanding of the influencing factors, challenges and solutions. Singapore dyslexia association, director, SpLD assessment services, English language and literacy division and staff professional development division, Geetha Santha Ram will be delivering the keynote address. The speakers at the event will include include doctors, occupational therapists and experts in the field of play, parenting and emotional wellness.

The symposium is open to anyone interested in providing support to children with dyslexia. Various school principals, teachers, special educators and parents have been registering for the symposium to understand the importance of the new multi-pronged approach. The stakeholders plan to integrate the learnings with teaching-learning practices followed at their respective schools.

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This multi-pronged intervention is not-limited to remedial teaching but plays a pivotal role in providing the child with comprehensive support. The MDA was founded by IIT Madras alumni from the 1970 batch, D Chandrashekar.

Highlighting the important aspects of National Symposium 2023, Madras Dyslexia Association, president, D. Chandrashekar, said: “As the MDA celebrates our 30 years in the service towards children with dyslexia and their stakeholders, we are glad to bring to the people, the experts to share the best practices to facilitate optimal intervention. Children with dyslexia are endowed with many strengths pros and are capable of achieving success in many areas. Let's work together to enable them to develop into productive individuals.”