Teacher Starts School for Kids with Learning Disabilities and Helps 6000 Kids

Dr Bhuvana Vasudevan from Puducherry started Bridges Learning Vidyalaya in 1993 that uses unique methods to teach children with dyslexia, ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), autism and other developmental disorders

It was in 1993 during her service in Kendriya Vidyalaya that Dr Bhuvana Vasudevan noticed that some kids are not grasping the subjects as easily as other kids. At that time there was no internet or YouTube for her to research learning disabilities. So she began to make a file for each kid who was having difficulty in studying. She began to make separate learning methods for those kids and those methods were so successful that the parents of the kids and others asked Dr Bhuvana to start a school for kids with learning disabilities.

In 1998, Dr Bhuvana opened Bridges Learning Vidyalaya at Thanthai Periyar Nagar to teach students with dyslexia, ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), autism and other developmental disorders.

“The school also accepts students who have behavioral concerns, undergone childhood trauma and slow learners. The police department also refers a few students who are under their observation,” Dr Bhuvana said in an interview with The Better India. The school teaches students from Classes 1 to 12 and follows the Puducherry Board syllabus. Every child’s IQ is tested using Malin’s Intelligence Scale and classified into mild, moderate and severe categories, depending on their abilities.

The school adopts unique teaching methods to impart education and helps them understand topics from a child’s perspective. “I design the methodology by putting myself in the shoes of the students. I try to understand the difficulty they must be facing while learning a topic and outline a simpler method to teach accordingly,” she says.

The school has also trained teachers to teach the subjects in a friendly manner.

Over the past 25 years, the school has educated over 6,000 students, many of whom are now doctors, managers and engineers working in reputed companies. Some others are in the hospitality industry, social work and nutrition.

-Staff Reporter