Vinod joined Karuna Vihar School at the age of eleven in the year 1998. Vinod has Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. The family income was meagre to provide food and shelter, leave alone the ignorance about special education.  His mother knew only one technique to control his behaviour and that was beating him up till she got exhausted! Little did she know that her action could worsen his behaviour.

The first few weeks in school were hard for him; he cried and looked very frightened. He would stand by his mother, clinging on to her. He was unable to cope in a classroom situation. When a teacher would involve him in outdoor activity, he would bang the doors to go inside. He frequently hit other children and laughed inappropriately. He would resist physical contact from adults. His attention span to any activity would be a few seconds. He would be very fearful in new situations. His anxiety, restlessness, and inattentiveness were tough and challenging for the staff. He was unmanageable both at home and school. Situations were becoming worse for the family as he grew older. It was ongoing battle for the family. Their home was merely a small room, and they used a public toilet. Since he would leave the public toilet messy, children would tease, call him names and throw stones at him. His social skills were poor; to change clothes he would just take off his pants in public. His mother was very concerned since her young daughter who would get very distressed by Vinod’s behaviour.

In school, he got all the love and attention which initially aggravated him. The staff developed special strategies of behaviour management to deal with his difficulties. His behaviour started changing very gradually. The school worked on his daily living skills. He had severe social-emotional difficulties that resulted in a reluctance to initiate conversation.
When he turned sixteen, he graduated to Karuna Vihar Centre for Vocational Training. Vinod’s behaviour took a turn and he settled down much faster in this new environment. He received his new uniform and was called a ‘trainee’. The environment was open; no locks on the gates and freedom to move around like an adult. Somehow, he started enjoying this whole setup of working like adults. He would still be jerky and exhibited no self-confidence. As time passed, in two years time, Vinod transformed, looking up to his teachers for instructions, being pro-active in his structured training program, and communicative. At nineteen now, he enjoys gardening, housekeeping, carpentry etc. It is heartening to see him guarding the gate weekly at an LRF project. Along with his mother, he commutes by vikram (a local public transport) and enjoys every aspect at the centre.
The staff watched his abundant difficulties but now it gives abundant happiness to see him working. God bless him!

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Neeraj lives in a neighbourhood called Panditwari, just a short distance from our centre. He has Cerebral Palsy and difficulty walking and speaking. One day, Satya Pal, at that time the gate keeper at Karuna Vihar school and also a resident of Panditwari, happened to see him fall down in the market. He rushed over to help him up and after dusting him off and comforting him, he said to his mother: “You should bring him to Karuna Vihar. We can help children like him.”

A few days later, his mom turned up with him and his younger sister. Neeraj was 11 and had only had one experience in a mainstream school – an experience which had been so traumatic he was terrified at the thought of even stepping through the door. The first day he was to attend, he cried so hysterically we finally sent him home, asking his mother to bring him back the next day along with his younger sister, Rakhi, for company until he adjusted to the new environment.

The next day he came with his sister, but stood by the gate the whole day, whimpering piteously whenever anyone tried to involve him in an activity. Rakhi stayed with him for most of the time but every now and then she would nip off to join in a game or a singing session. Each time she returned she would tell him what she had done with excitement and pleasure. Neeraj got more and more curious, but still refused to budge from his point of safety at the gate.

By the third day, Rakhi had given up all pretence of taking care of Neeraj and joined happily in all the different classes – story time, play dough, blowing bubbles, counting and sorting beads.

On day four, Neeraj decided he was ready. He walked into his class and has never looked back since. He is a wonderful person with the most amazing can-do attitude in the world. No matter how difficult the task, he is prepared to give it a try. Ten years later, he is ready to graduate from the CVT and will soon be starting his new job as an assistant at the Doon Hospital Help Desk.