Don Bosco Research Centre

An orientation programme on the topic ‘Learning Disabilities of Students’ was held on 13 June 2023 for the teaching and non-teaching staff of Don Bosco School, Nashik.  Fr Ajoy Fernandes SDB, who holds a doctorate in Counselling Psychology with a major in Clinical Counselling was the resource person. 

Fr Fernandes began the session by asking the teachers of different sections to enumerate the learning difficulties of the students in their classes, and then he explained how the teachers could deal with students with different learning difficulties.

It was indeed a good learning experience for all the teachers, right from Pre-Primary to Junior College section. They were engaged in dynamic sessions that also dealt with the problems faced by the teachers while dealing with the students suffering from learning disabilities. Teachers watched the visuals as well as the videos on how to engage students with different disabilities in various physical activities, which was followed by discussion and Q&A sessions. 

Fr Fernandes elucidated how to classify the problems faced by the students, such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia, and ADHD disorder. He guided the teachers to differentiate between the slow learners, and hyperactive children in their classes. He emphasised that teachers should allow slow learners to study at their own pace. He appealed to the Pre-Primary and the Primary section teachers to find out the hyperactive students at an early stage in order to provide them with the required remedial treatment in the form of occupational therapy, which also included physical exercises. Most importantly, he pointed out that the parents’ as well as the teacher’s roles are very important to making a difference in the behaviour of such children.  

The teachers were enlightened from the session and committed themselves that they would certainly apply all these inputs received from the orientation and will try to facilitate the learning process of the students during the regular classes. 

A vote of thanks was proposed by the Principal, Fr Cedric Sankul and Ms Ashoo Verma presented a token of appreciation on behalf of the Management.

Fr Ajoy Fernandes was accompanied by Fr Mavron Fernandes SDB who assisted him by directing the teachers of all the sections and handling the presentation. 

Mumbai, Sep. 5. Mumbai Salesians’ Father [Dr.] Ajoy Fernandes who has a doctorate in Counselling Psychology with a major in Clinical Counselling and is Director Prafulta-Don Bosco Youth Counselling Services, Matunga-Mumbai, presents an online episodic video-series ‘Understanding and Helping Children with Learning Difficulties’. The video-series starting today 05 September, and to be aired on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of every month, on the MumbaiSalesians’ Youtube Channel, are broken up into short 10-minute interactive inputs describing the symptoms of learning and related difficulties; the formal and informal ways of assessing these difficulties; the types of beneficial interventions possible and the government-endorsed concessions across India. This is a Teachers’ Day gift from the famed clinical psychologist, as an appreciation to teachers all over, who mould, nourish, nurture, inspire, motivate, enlighten and mentor students on a daily basis.

Children with learning disabilities have an ‘invisible challenge’. The struggle to read, write and to perform simple arithmetic calculations are very real and their academic performance suffers. Misunderstood, labelled, and taunted, these children often develop emotional problems. Parents and teachers are left in a dilemma whether these children genuinely have a difficulty or they are just playing up! Early identification and remedial help can help these struggling children to surmount the obstacles and even outperform their peers. Dr. Fernandes begins the 1st episode with ‘an overview of learning difficulties’, to be followed by elaborate explanations of each specific difficulty in later episodes. He says, ”on an average teachers have to deal with 40-60 students in a classroom environment. While most students seem to catch up with general classroom instruction, teachers very often find it impossible to get through to some of the students, despite all the effort. The teachers are aware that these students have some difficulty but are unable to figure out the exact nature of the students’ difficulty.” The idea for the online episodic video-series, mooted by Mumbai Salesians’ Provincial Father Savio Silveira, is a follow up to the 2019 Don Bosco Research Centre [DBRC] publication ‘Understanding and Helping Children with Learning Difficulties’. DBRC teacher-training workshops ‘Learning Disabilities: Identification and Remediation’ involved the participation of teachers from across some of the major cities of the length and breadth of India, who also provided valuable feedback and future considerations. Resource persons and subject-experts also played a pivotal role in the research-training study. Dr. Fernandes believes, ”this will be very helpful for parents and teachers, to view and understand in a simple and easy to understand fashion: the various difficulties, its characteristics, impediments, learning disorders, language disorders, sensory integration, motor-auditory-visual processing and the clinical-psychoeducational assessment.” The online episodic video-series, a year since the publication of the book, serves as an easily accessible resource to be aware and more proactively reach out to children experiencing such difficulties, reducing the intensity of their struggle and help them build a stable future. Dr Fernandes, however cautions, ”the videos are intended to be general guidelines only. For informed opinion, parents and teachers will need to consult professionally trained psychologists or special educators.” Understanding & Helping Children with Learning Difficulties: Ep. 01-Overview of the Learning Difficulties

by BIS Correspondent

MUMBAI, AUGUST 3, 2018: Don Bosco Research Centre (DBRC) conducted a training workshop for teachers entitled ‘Learning Disabilities: Identification and Remediation’ at multiple locations across Maharashtra in June and July.

The first session was held at the Don Bosco Provincial House, Matunga on June 22, Our Lady of Salvation Church, Dadar, on June 28 and July 12. The workshop was also held at Don Bosco High School, Panjim, Goa on July 17.

Twenty teachers from six schools participated in the Matunga workshop; and 72 teachers from 43 schools participated across two days in the Dadar workshop. In Goa, 130 teachers from 49 schools participated.

Father Ajoy Fernandes, who holds a Ph. D in Counselling Psychology, with a major in Clinical Counselling was the chief resource person at these workshops. The workshop helped teachers understand the difference between children who have a low intellectual capacity; those who suffer from Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder; Specific Learning Disorders – dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia; and difficulty with visual-motor coordination.

Father Fernandes explained the nature of different kinds of intervention required for assisting children with each category of difficulty. He emphasised that interventions are most effective when initiated at a young age. Apart from illustrating his presentation with incidents drawn from actual life situations, he acquainted teachers with simple checklists that could assist in identifying children who might be at risk for learning disorders.

Participants were also informed about government-endorsed provisions for children with learning disorders; and centres to which children with difficulty could be referred for assessment and assistance.

“I now feel better equipped to understand the nature of children’s learning difficulties, and the way in which they can best be helped,” a teacher, who summarised the experience of her colleagues at the workshop, said. A number of teachers shared a similar sentiment.

Father Fernandes requested the participants to share the information imparted at the workshop with their colleagues in their respective schools. Given that there were representatives from around 96 schools, the benefit of the workshop is expected to extend to a large number of children across these cities.

The World Health Organisation has estimated that 250 million children the world-over are affected by tobacco consumption. It’s figures such as these, and others published in India, pointing to over 90 percent children in certain Indian states using tobacco and well over 50 percent opting for alcohol, cannabis and other inhalants, that has prompted the Don Bosco Research Centre (DBRC), under the leadership of Father Ajoy Fernandes to undertake a three-year-long study on substance abuse among school children, the findings of which have been published in a book penned by Father Fernandes, entitled “Preventing Substance Abuse Among School Children” a manual for teachers, being launched by Cardinal Oswald Gracias on June 29 in Mumbai.

By Karen Laurie, BIS Mumbai.

The 104-page discourse provides in-depth data on the menace of the drug habit among youth in India today. From 2015, DBRC has conducted training programmes on combatting drub abuse at schools in ten Indian cities, namely Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Goa, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Chandigarh.

The programmes and research on the issue reached its culmination with the publication of the book, which is aimed at helping school administrators, teachers understand issues related to substance abuse among school children and to prevent such occurrences.

The book breaks down the complex terminology associated with drug abuse, right from defining drug and substance abuse, to highlighting the progression of the habit, the risk, factors that contribute to abuse and eventually the dangerous chemistry associated with drug and substance abuse that essentially re-programmes the brain of a healthy child to ‘negatively impact cognitive functions’. Despite alarming numbers, unfortunately educational institutions have not yet identified drug or substance abuse as a problem that could have life-changing consequences on a child.

“In some places administrations are not even attentive to the issue,” Father Fernandes said. “Some administrations are attentive to the issue and want to do something about it in a couple of cities, for example, when we were trying to get in touch with schools; they were not even willing to accept the idea because they felt if we do a training programme like this it will seem that there are drug addicts in the school and it will bring a bad name to the school… Probably this has not really hit the administration, perhaps they have not found severe enough instances for them to awaken to the reality of sensitisation and that is an issue.”

The book highlights several “vulnerability factors” that could push a child into experimenting with substances. These factors could be on an individual level, with attention and learning disabilities, low self-esteem; at family level, with conflict-ridden families; school level, caused by academic failure; or even community level, which stems from the easy availability of substances.

“Vulnerability factors are at an individual level; they are on the family level; they are on the school level, and they are on a society level. So, this is what I would like to highlight most in the chapters, rather than just focus on the mere fact of drugs and substances. What I want to focus on is the vulnerability factors, and when I say prevention this is what I think needs to be done. So, what I have been noticing is if families are not stable, if there are conflicts within the family, husband and wife fighting with each other, if there is violence in the family, either physical abuse, sexual abuse, within the immediate or more extended family, if there are instances of mental health issues in family, then the children begin to feel unable to handle the insecurity of the basic family, that is when the likelihood of this happening is there,” Father Fernandes said.

“Even perfectionism is a strong thing. What people would want to achieve is sometimes the source of the problem. They want to achieve academic success. But when they start hard-driving children, and children are not able to meet up to parental expectations, that’s when it happens, or when parents are extremely over-critical about the performance of children, where they push them to achieve, that’s when they actually fall. So, for me that would be a vulnerability. It just struck me that somebody from a well-placed family, financially well-off family, spoke about a son on this, what struck me when I spoke was an active conflict between the parents.”

“Individual factors are largely the whole issue of lack of ability to cope with academics. If children have learning disabilities, like attention deficit whatever, they are likely to be the ones who cannot cope up with this, so if schools don’t understand this, and give support for this issue, and if schools are not aware of what learning disabilities are, then these children will be pushed as being lazy, not interested, so they will get negatively branded. Then, when they get discouraged – together with not being able to handle this – they are more likely to try substances.”

“A very large percentage of those who later become school dropouts, anti-social elements, and land on the streets or have attempted substances, are those who have had learning disabilities. So, if this issue of learning disabilities is not attended to, then these children will tend to become dropouts, or when they are not able to cope, and there is also lack of understanding at home, parental pushing, these children will become vulnerable. So, those vulnerability factors there are strong.”

“It may seem that it is only learning issues, but also children who are withdrawn, shy, who are not able to cope up with regular companionship, through loneliness, isolation, that will be another issue at an individual level. On the school front, it may be the kind of company they keep. It has been found that students who are more likely to indulge in bullying, in violation of school norms, in thefts or whatever else, these are children who tend to be more vulnerable.”

Given that the transition from childhood to adolescence is turbulent and fraught with possibility of risky behaviour in response to peer pressure, academic stress and parental expectations, Father Fernandes emphasizes that parents and teachers should work together to identify and tackle the issue of substance abuse in children as early indicators become apparent.

“Parents, as well as teachers, have their normal responsibilities, so they will tend to focus primarily on academics, earning. Largely because much of their attention is attending to their regular duties, these might tend not to get noticed. Parents and teachers might not be aware of the indicators. Since they are not aware, the likelihood of slippage taking place until the time it becomes so obvious, then it’s too late. So the idea is to be attentive to indicators from the start,” Father added.

“We have a set of what are school-related indicators, especially if we find they are not coping up with school work or there is absenteeism that will be one way. Then we look at personal appearance. If there is a sharp change in communication, either where they were not boisterous, suddenly boisterous, very withdrawn where they were early communicative, those may be indicators.”

Several interventions have also been highlighted that would help steer a healthy, happy child away from substance abuse. “Developing good communication skills, trusting relationships with adults, where they can speak. Developing social skills also for insertion into company where they get support and skills where they can resist pressures,” Father Fernandes concludes.

Though statistics point to an increasing trend in school-going children turning to substance abuse, it’s clear that publications like “Preventing Substance Abuse Among School Children” and research undertaken by DBRC will help offer educationists and parents alike pertinent insights and tips to “identify, accompany and assist those experimenting with substances and providing guidelines to safeguard others.”

by Veena Sharma

MUMBAI, APR 20, 2016: As part of the ongoing study on children of migrant construction workers, a four day training workshop was organised, for teams from Delhi, Ahmedabad and Mumbai by Don Bosco Research Centre (DBRC), Mumbai from April 5 to 8.

The participants were briefed on what the study was about, what it involved and how it was to be conducted in their respective cities. During the course of the training workshop, participants were told about their roles and the methodology of the study.

After a welcome note by the DBRC CEO, Dakshayani Madangopal and introduction of the participants, Dr Susan Mathew— welcomed the resource person, Professor Anil Kumar of TISS from School of Health Systems Study.

Professor Kumar discussed the ‘Household interview schedule’ with the participants. This was followed by queries and mock interviews. The interview schedule for children below nine years was discussed in the post-lunch session.

This was again followed by a practice session of mock interviews. The participants were actively involved and discussed various queries pertaining to their cities. For children between 10-18 years, the interview schedule was discussed on the second day by Professor RR Bhagat of the International Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS).

He highlighted the intricacies of interpreting and documenting the responses of the subjects. This too was followed by queries and mock sessions. Dr Nilesh Gawde of the Tata institute of Social Sciences demonstrated the use of Anthropometric instruments. He demonstrated the use of a Stadiometer for measuring heights, the Infantometer for heights of infants and the weighing scale. He meticulously explained the steps involved and precautions to be taken in the use of each instrument.

‘Sampling’ was the topic for the next session and Professor Kumar discussed, identifying and listing of construction sites, inclusion-exclusion criteria, making sampling frame and final sample selection procedures.

Hemalatha Anil Kumar of DBRC in her session talked of ethical constraints and standard operating procedures during the conduct of the study. On the penultimate day, the participants were taken to a construction site for hands- on training.

Household listing and sample selection of households was carried out. This field training was supervised by Reshmi Nair of International Institute of Population Sciences. The participants got to interview the householders and their children. In the review session on the final day, feedback and queries were discussed. Before their departure, the participants were given their anthropometric instruments which they will use in their respective cities, with a promise to deliver their best to make this study a success.