CHENNAI:As guests watched and  teachers and parents beamed with pride, a group of 20 special children formed a magnificent lotus, at the inaugural of the 17th Annual Sports Day of the Madhuram Narayanan Centre for Exceptional Children in the city on Friday. Behind the flawless performance was three weeks of hardwork put in by the children affected by various disorders such as autism, cerebral palsy and Down Syndrome, guided by their physical educator D Babu.  “They are no different from normal children. It’s only that the instructor should know how to keep them focused and make them follow instructions. The command should be loud enough, but slow and steady, delivered in simple words. This will make the children understand easily. This is something that the mother of every special child should learn,” said Babu. Babu had come down from Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University, Coimbatore, to train these children. “For the centre, the idea behind conducting the sports day is to convey a message that these exceptional children can become normal if proper intervention is provided,” said Vimala Kannan, one of the directors of Madhuram Narayanan Centre for Exceptional Children.

The games conducted on the day were chosen from among a variety of activities that suits children with different levels of disability, involving motor skills, social skills, daily activities and others............Read more

Source web page: The New Indian Express