Differently abled children are often shunned and subjected to a learning environment that only serves abled students in a classroom setting. It is not a “one size fits all” situation because all children have their strengths and weaknesses. When disadvantaged children are mostly misunderstood and not catered to properly, it can cause significant damage to the psyche of the child, which, in turn, reduces their productivity. They develop self-esteem issues that can last for a lifetime. Teachers, if not trained properly, can make these students associate learning with fear. They are made to feel inadequate to their peers. If teachers provide them with an environment that hinders their growth, it may give them feelings of anxiety and depression because of all the negative feedback they contract. This causes fear of failure, which may damage them indefinitely and hinder the probability of success.

Children have a natural drive to learn and move forward, where they want to make their parents proud and try their best to make them happy. Being treated unfairly hurts them. All their expectations are diminished, and the bar for learning is set low. When they are not performing adequately in school, it causes despair and helplessness to take over their little minds. Failing them over and over in a system that only caters to the abled children is unjust, and this takes a toll on the child’s performance and mental health. They are discouraged if they are not being catered to individually. At Avalon, teachers and parents are empowered and educated in the art of correctly dealing with disabled children.

Teachers have the capacity and drive to cater to the needs of differently-abled children. These children need individual attention, which requires teachers to politely and generously help these children learn in more productive ways. Parents should also pay special attention to their children and make sure they are not being treated unfairly. Parents also need to be educated about the ways they can handle their children.

We must also put ourselves in these children’s shoes. Imagine a situation where you are constantly ridiculed by your bosses or superiors. Being constantly told that you are not good enough and being berated on your performance at work can diminish employee productivity. However, a good boss would always keep a check and balance on the performance of their employees and offer constructive criticism that helps enhance their abilities to work and, in that way, achieve better performance on their part. Such is the case with these children. We have to make sure that everyone feels heard and accepted as equal citizens of society where they are not judged by others. In this modern age, we must hear our children and pay attention to what they need

Here at Avalon, we care for our students wholeheartedly and ensure they are seen and heard. This can work wonders on the performance and the well-being of our special needs children.