Children need support, not stigma: Experts stress early intervention to reverse dyslexia
Times of India | 30 October 2025Hundreds of children, parents, teachers, counsellors, and clinical psychologists gathered at Victoria Memorial on Wednesday to observe and raise awareness about dyslexia – a condition that afflicts over 35 million children in India. It followed a Walk for Dyslexia organised by Victoria Memorial Hall and Anjali Dyslexia Association, in which many took part.
Victoria Memorial was lit up in red on Wednesday evening since the colour represents dyslexia.
Dyslexia is a condition caused by differences in the parts of the brain that process languages. It leads to reading, writing, and learning difficulties that could become permanent if not addressed early, said experts. However, dyslexia has nothing to do with intelligence, and those afflicted with it can overcome the barriers with help from clinical psychologists and teachers, said Arundhati Sarkar, director of Anjali Dyslexia Association, who moderated the discussion.
"But it is important to recognise the early signs and address them. Many tend to treat it as a permanent disability. But they are intelligent children who can't write, read correctly, or make spelling errors since their brains work a little differently. So, they have specific learning difficulties or disabilities that need to be addressed. Unfortunately, dyslexic children are laughed at, bullied, and teachers scold them but don't know how to help.
As a result, they face isolation. But we have seen that with a little help, they do much better. In fact, they get rid of their difficulties entirely," said Sarkar.
Special educator and head of special education at The Heritage School, Sheela Menon, agreed. "The key is to recognise the signs and accept that the child is dyslexic. Then, you need to address the specific areas hindering the child in a pointed manner. It requires time and patience, but they improve dramatically.
The issue here is that parents often refuse to accept that the child has an issue. Consequently, time is lost, and the condition becomes irreversible, or the desired improvement doesn't happen.
With time and awareness, however, more parents are seeking help," said Menon.
She added that dyslexia must be addressed by the time a child is in class 2 or 3 and not when he or she has reached high school. If identified at the right time, reading and writing issues can be successfully addressed, said Sarkar.
"There are special techniques to help them achieve what we call a ‘breakthrough in reading'. There are scores of examples where children have started writing flawlessly within weeks, and I recall one who even wrote stories.
The way ahead is to first approach a consultant who will identify the condition and then do a psychological and educational assessment. It requires extra time, and the child has to be taught in certain specific methods to read, write, and avoid errors. It's a specialised process that is not complicated once a teacher is trained in it," said Sarkar.
