“Today Gracie played in the playground; she fell down and got bruised like all the other kids. She came home at the end of the day, cranky, like any other kid, played with her baby doll, and finally hugged and kissed me, while I was in the kitchen. She could even walk to the sink to wash her chubby hands, all on her own today. Grace can make her daddy's heart melt, in a matter of seconds with her bright, sparkling, smile upon her beautiful little face. Less then a second, Grace is her dad's world and mine too. Infact she is our super hero. How blessed am I”.

This was an excerpt from Mrs. John’s diary. Though it may seem normal, Mrs. John’s 5 year old little daughter, is a special child that takes hours longer to walk, tie her shoe laces as compared to normal children. In a country like India, Children with special needs stand at an even greater disadvantage. They are either hidden away at home, rejected by schools or generally be neglected, which makes it even harder for them to find employment when they grow up. In most families disability is considered to cause serious financial constraints because, few entertain special children’s needs. Infact when a special child is born into an Indian family, special children are considered to be a result of the anger of gods, or ancestors, the embodiment of sin in the family or of sin itself, is widely prevalent.

Parents of these children feel guilty and sometimes take the blame for the impairment on themselves. Families, communities and the medical professionals often worsen this guilt by their attitude to the baby and to the parents, calling the child a 'vegetable', 'useless', or 'a burden'. Inevitably the stigma and guilt results in the isolation or segregation of the child.Though a few NGO services do cater to their needs, most of them are time consuming, demand a lot of patience and repetitive. By providing all the needed services in a holistic manner as an Integrated Program, children with special needs are provided timely, affordable and quality services there by improving their lives and that of their families and the society at large.

Children with Special Needs are amongst the most marginalized sections of society in India. Over the last decade and a half, there has been a growing awareness and several significant achievements but however, a large number of these children still live in alienation and isolation. Added to this is the fact that most rehabilitation services are either unavailable or beyond the reach of families belonging to the lower strata of society. Due to the stigma and stereotyping the initial years of these special children are spent by families running from pillar to post trying to cure the child’s condition, right from specialist who promise cure to a quack who promises a miracle to happen on full moon days to a therapist who can provide quick results.

This eventually drains out the parents financial capabilities reconcile to the verdict by Doctors & other professionals that their Child is useless and leave the child unattended in a corner of the house. The fragmented rehabilitation system also means that parents are left to choose between medical, therapeutic or special education. But the beauty of a special child will always be special and that’s the promise of life.

Writer is a team member of OnlineSchoolAdmissions.com – a portal that provides free of cost consultancy to parents and schools for fast and easy online school admission process. Parents can locate manav kendra gyan school or maharishi vidya mandir of their choice selected from the directory of schools listed on the site and applies to them. They can also search for lal bahadur shastri school as per their choice and fill up the school application forms online.