Learning difficulties: ‘We should learn from India’

Need to create awareness about attention deficit, hyperactivity, dyslexia stressed.

LAHORE:

Speakers at a seminar held on Friday to highlight learning difficulties and ways of dealing with them urged the civil society to carry out awareness campaigns about slow learners taking a leaf from India’s book.

The event was organised by the Foundation for Rehabilitation and Education of Slow Children (FRESH) to mark the completion of an awareness campaign by Pakistan Association for Difficulties in Learning (PADIL) on attention deficit disorder, attention deficit, hyperactive disorder and dyslexia. It was attended by social scientists, educationists, businessmen and government representatives.

The speakers included former Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Yawar Irfan and columnist Hassan Nisar. Irfan said Pakistan should learn from initiatives taken by India in this regard.

Fresh Secretary General Ashba Kamran said that Padil’s volunteers came from various institutions including Aitchison College, International School of Choueifat, the Lahore University of Management Sciences and the Lahore Grammar School.

She said the volunteers were reaching out to celebrities from various walks of life.

She said they have already contacted Justice (retired) Nasira Javed Iqbal, columnist Ataul Haq Qasmi, television host Iftikhar Ahmed, APTMA Secretary Anisul Haq, MNAs Pervaiz Malik and Zaeem Qadri.

“All these luminaries have become Padil’s members,” she said.

She said Padil members had set up a stall at the education expo recently held in Lahore.

“Some 1,000 new members joined Padil after the exhibition,” she said. She said a campaign was launched on April 1, 2012 in collaboration with Fresh.

She said it aimed at raising awareness about children with ADD, ADHD and dyslexia. She said Fresh was already running a chain of schools called Green Meadows in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Sargodha.

“The students educated and trained at these schools are now working with leading multinationals and food chains,” she said. Kamran said she hoped that efforts made by PADIL and Fresh will help people better appreciate learning disabilities.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2012.