Spectrum Speaks

Interview with Anuska Biswas :

1. How has your disorder affected the way in which society perceives you?

Our society, especially in India is so used to producing “perfect’ individuals that anyone with a disorder or flaw, they directly perceive them as dumb. Dyslexia is of many types and affects each person in different ways. The moment when i tell someone that i am dyslexic the first thing they presume is that i have difficulty in reading or writing. But problem area was in understanding. This conversation usually led to sympathy or pity. It is hard for our society to normalise this fact so they assumed that my intelligence was linked to my understanding of written words and treated me differently. Instead they could ask the person what they exactly struggle with and just be supportive.

2. Do you think you are portrayed accurately by the media?

Most media ignores learning disabilities but the perception of dyslexia has definitely changed over the years. People have become more aware of individuals with special needs. The first movie i had seen portraying dyslexia accurately was Taare Zameen Par which was definitely an eye opener for many people. What i think is that there should be more emphasis on special educators and their role in improving the quality of our lives. On the other hand social media and our generation tackles these issues sensitively and is more accepting.

3. Do you think there is a misconception about this disorder which you would like to highlight?

Dyslexia has many levels and the major misconception that people have is that we write in mirror images or we can’t string together a sentence while speaking. For example, I can read and write properly but in a paragraph/story i cannot sequence the events properly so my comprehension gets affected. people with learning disabilities don’t do well in maths because of word problems. In maths some people have dyscalculia that is they don’t understand numbers and can’t calculate or in dyslexia they won’t be able to understand the word problems. The other misconception is that they need special schools. They basically need a special educator and a normal school to interact and compete with general students.

4. What advice would you give to someone on the spectrum or their parents?

Indian society is completely focused on exams and marks to evaluate the intelligence of the child. So when the child in spite of working hard doesn’t do well in exams the child hides or lies about their marks to the parents. They do not know what’s wrong with them or can’t diagnose themselves so they are puzzled or ashamed. All parents should be aware that their own child can be dyslexic and seek help of a psychologist or a special educator as soon as possible. the lag becomes very wide the later the diagnosis is made. To the person who is going through it. This is a non curable disability, so you must work harder to be able to overcome the troubles. Always trust your special educator as they know the best for you. What people tell you about yourself shouldn’t affect you as your confidence in yourself is what matters. Dyslexia is just a part of you but don’t let it interfere with you growing to be the best version of yourself.

Interviewed by Ahana Mukherjee

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFWU9G3lGh1/

#interview #spectrumspeaks