Fourteen years ago, special educator G Sayadevi decided to begin a school for children with special needs, in Chennai. Her venture, Jayam Special School, is today one of only a handful of schools across Tamil Nadu, to help children with autism, transition to mainstream learning. An average of approximately 15% of its students studying in Class 10 join regular schooling every year.”We follow the normal state board syllabus, but the only exception is if a normal student has 10 lessons to complete, most of our children don’t get to learn them all – they cannot learn them all,” explains Sayadevi, “We don’t want 100 marks; we just want to reinforce the belief that these children can pass exams, and score 35 marks.”Last year, the school raised funding totalling ₹42 lakhs after participating in Fast Pitch, a shark-tank-styled fund-raise event hosted by SVP India. It then raised additional funding from SVP’s partner ecosystem, found a spot under the SVP India umbrella, and has received mentorship from the philanthropic organisation in areas like book-keeping, social media and capacity-building.
“In the last 4-5 months, we have enabled about ₹35 lakh from CSR and foundations’ ecosystem,” says Gayathri Balan, CEO (Chennai Chapter) at SVP India, “The funding that we are enabling from the ecosystem is something they should be able to do on their own. So, we want in place a fund-raising manager and a very able accounts manager.””People often overlook the importance of organizational development and capacity building for small non-profits,” she adds, “This is exactly the place Jayam Special School needs support – we want them to stand on their own feet.”Established in 2011, and named in memory of Sayadevi’s autistic brother, Jayam Special School has since moved to a new campus, upgraded facilities, and given its academic and therapy modules a shot in the arm, benefiting 170 students, under the care of 16 teachers and therapists.Over the last decade-and-a-half, Sayadevi’s efforts have helped educate and train over 1,650 students with special needs, giving them a shot at what is widely acknowledged to be a normal life. However, her mission comes with its own set of challenges.”The challenge is seldom the children – it’s usually the parents,” she says, “Generally speaking, parents aren’t accepting of their children’s autism or special needs. They insist that their children are normal and just hyperactive.”She adds: “Autism is not a disability – it’s merely a different ability. If we believe in our kids and their abilities, they can achieve anything. This is my belief, and I hope parents become more understanding and accepting of this too.”However, that isn’t the end of the many obstacles that continue to remain in the way of transition and rehabilitation, which have now called for a new vision for special education. For instance, the future of special education, experts feel is a world beyond academics.While Jayam Special School has transitioned a significant number of students to mainstream learning, equipping them with workplace skills is the ultimate goal. “This year, 66 students will pass tenth grade, but their employment remains a big question mark,” says Sayadevi, “These children first face issues with inclusivity and then employment.”She explains: “As per government reservation policies, there is a disability quota, but even a fraction of that doesn’t see representation from individuals with autism, because of behavioural issues; our focus now, is to create employment opportunities for these children.”So, despite a pass percentage of 100, it’s skilling and employment that will take centre stage, as Sayadevi and her special education venture continue the journey of transitioning children with autism to a normal life.
