News
Flag-bearer for special children
There is much joy in a humble home and primary school deep in Gampaha district, beleaguered by COVID-19.
While the highest achievers at the Grade 5 scholarship examination across the country have got wide publicity with their photographs splashed across all the newspapers, in this home and school the joy is over a special 10-year-old securing 149 precious marks out of 200.
The boy is T.A. Deenuka Dilsara from Pahala Imbulgoda, about five kms from Kadawatha town who attended the gamey iskole of Sunethradevi Kanishta Vidyalaya.
T.A. Deenuka Dilsara
The journey up to the time Deenuka sat the scholarship exam and achieved these marks has been long, marked by the unwavering support and commitment of many.
It is Deenuka’s mother, Kumari Chandani, who retraces the journey for the Sunday Times……..married to an IT professional, their one-and-only son was born 10 years ago with several issues.
Ipadena kota godak durwalai, says Kumari, explaining that when he was born at the De Soysa Hospital for Women, he was very weak. He was of low birth-weight, he had a hole in the heart and he had to be in the baby room for more than a week. After one year, he was not uttering a single word and there was no eye contact.
The child’s path crossed that of Consultant Paediatrician Dr. Samanamali Sumanasekera who diagnosed him as having autism (autism spectrum disorder refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviours, speech and non-verbal communication).
The interventions that caring Dr. Sumansekera told them to do, they carried out like a prayer.
“The kriyakarakam started with saban bola,” says Kumari reliving those early days, when the first activity that mother and son engaged in was blowing bubbles with soapy water. Standing before a mirror, she and Deenuka also played with similar toys.
He was unable to stay in one place for more than five minutes but gradually, by the time he was three years old, all the interventions succeeded in keeping him occupied for at least 20 minutes.
Then came the time for him to attend pre-school and they sent him to ‘Kumudu Kekulu’ in the premises of the temple close to their home. They told the teachers that he was a special child. For 2½ years, he went each weekday morning with his little bag, tiffin box and bottle of water.
Next was regular school and they picked on the gamey iskole where not only earlier Principal M.G. Ranbanda and current Principal Srimali Suriyarachchi and the teachers Neetha Suriyarachchi (Grades 1 & 2); Devika Wijesinghe (Grades 3 & 4) and Nilanthi Senadeera (Grade 5) looked after him.
There were some initial challenges and Deenuka’s parents feared he would be cornered (konkarai kiyala). For the little boy, being an only child, was not used to sharing and sometimes would be a little rough with the other children, with their parents finding fault with the staff that they were not disciplining Deenuka through the “deterrent” of corporal punishment.
The Principal and teachers managed the situation tactfully and supportively, understanding Deenuka’s situation.
Deenuka turned out to be a daksha (talented) child, participating in many activity and winning prizes whether it was handwriting, Sinhala reading, mathematics, while doing his homework and winning the hearts and minds of the teachers and the other children and being recognized as a shishya nayakaya (student leader).
With much emotion, Kumari says that Nilanthi teacher was Ammek-wage, mage daruwata vishesha avadanamak dunna (the teacher was like a mother and gave special attention to Deenuka).
It was amidst the COVID-19 crisis that Deenuka sat the Scholarship Examination on October 11, after a hug from his teacher. He wrote for Paper I (General Knowledge & IQ) and Paper II (the syllabi of Grades 3, 4 & 5).
He did not get any special facilities of more time etc., but had performed very well earlier when set zonal papers and Kumari feels that the change of school (he had to go to a different school which was the examination centre) and seeing policemen at the gate may have put him out of sync.
Usually, a child needs 180 marks to get into a National School and Deenuka’s proud parents are hoping that he would be able to walk through the portals of a good school where he could achieve his full potential and take his rightful place in society.
Then he could be a flag-bearer for all other special children in Sri Lanka.