The Odisha government decided to assess the Special Learning Disabilities (SLD) of children in the state and this will be conducted by the Department of Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) with the support of School and Mass Education and Health and Family Welfare departments, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.
Where is this going to be held? The assessment of children with SLD will be undertaken at the Integrated Infrastructure Complex (IIC) at Jatni, the State Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SIEP) and district disability rehabilitation centres.
Before the commencement of the assessment, the SSEPD department will depute Bengaluru-based National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) psychologists for training in order to perform the assessment. Along with this, psychologists working at SIEP will also be deputed for training. Additionally, the department will also procure NIMHANS SLD battery test to extend the assessment facility at Jatni IIC. Further, the facility will be later extended to other districts.
According to the NIMHANS SLD battery test, a child is considered to have SLD when her/his performance is functioning at three standards below the current class of the child. Any child having tested positive on the battery will be considered as a person with a benchmark disability, which is a disability of more than 40 per cent.
Giving more details about how the assessment will be conducted, an SSEPD department official said, a portal and mobile app will be developed for the survey of children with SLD. Training of district medical board specialists on certification of SLD will be conducted in collaboration with NIMHANS. Also, block education officers will be roped in for the survey in schools, he added.
Why is this assessment being conducted? The official said, "As the number of children with SLD has increased in recent times due to increased awareness and some other factors, the government has decided to carry on the assessment throughout the state."
