Here are a few thoughts for you to consider. 1. Schools must understand that accommodation and inclusivity are their obligations rather than simple things to ignore. Secondly, the schools should be honest about whether they are equipped enough to accommodate disabled children. And they should understand that disability is a diverse condition, and there are manifold type of children with different kind of needs. For people with sensory disabilities, it is definitely required to hire professionally trained special educators who can teach the child Braille, sign language, and daily living skills in the case of blind, deaf, and developmental difficulty children, respectively. More things to consider: 1. The schools must educate the parents that it's not harmful if the children get to study with disabled children. They should not get frightened that their children's academic grades might be affected if they have a disabled peer in their classroom. They should be educated that, more than the grades, their children will learn many virtuous things about the world which the grades cannot bring into their minds. Next, the teachers should be educated that it's not worthless to spend an extra amount of time for a disabled child who needs more care and more assistance for fulfilling his or her academic performance. They should be educated that it is completely okay to spend more time for the special disabled children, and they should be given enough time for this. Thirdly, schools must understand that spendings on disability accommodation is not too much to ask for. They should consider it as a part of their duty to fulfill for the society at large. For the children with physical disabilities, it is definitely important to ensure ramps and other infrastructural facilities while ensuring they are not bullied and teased. And this goes well for all disabled children. Thank you. With regards, Muruganandan K
On Sat, 1 Aug 2026 at 14:17, Rishabh Gupta <[email protected]> wrote: > Yesterday I gave my first author talk. > > The audience was not from the disability sector. They were principals, > educators, and school owners — people who run mainstream schools designed > for sighted students. They came because of the book. They stayed for the > conversation. > > In the Q&A, one of them — a policy maker — asked me something I was not > expecting: > > "What changes or best practices would you recommend that mainstream > schools should follow to become truly accessible and inclusive for students > with visual impairments?" > > I gave her my honest answer. But I told her what I am telling you now: the > most important answers to that question do not come from me. They come from > the people who actually sat in those classrooms. Who navigated those > corridors without anyone designing them with us in mind. Who found ways to > learn in systems that were not built for us — and who remember exactly what > was missing. > > These school owners and educators are willing to listen. That is not > something we always get to say. > > --- > > I shared one thing from my own experience. > > Beyond the tools — the screen readers, the accessible infrastructure, the > accommodations that schools are beginning to understand — I said what I > think is still missing in most mainstream schools is something simpler and > harder to mandate: > > Real contact between students. > > Not awareness programmes. Not disability sensitivity days. But actual > peer-to-peer collaboration — a project, an assignment, something with a > shared goal — where students work together and figure each other out > through the work itself. Where a visually impaired student's strengths > become visible not because someone pointed them out, but because the > project needed them. Where a sighted student's assumptions get quietly > corrected not through a lecture, but through a deadline. > > Empathy built in a classroom tends to fade. Understanding built through > working together on something real tends to stay. > > I do not know if this is the most important answer. It is the honest one > from my experience. > > --- > > Now I want yours. > > If you were speaking directly to the principal of a mainstream school — > someone who genuinely wants to do better and is willing to act — what would > you tell them? > > It does not have to be a policy recommendation. It could be a specific > memory. Something small that made an enormous difference. The one thing > nobody ever thought to do but should have. Or something that was done well > that more schools should know about. > > I will compile the responses and take them back to the room where the > question was asked. Your experience deserves to reach the people who have > the power to act on it. > > > Rishabh Gupta > Author, What I See Now | Managing Partner, Anant Resources | Co-Founder, > Green Energy Feeders > Raipur, Chhattisgarh > > -- > Disclaimer: > 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of > the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; > > 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails > sent through this mailing list.. > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "AccessIndia" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/CAOukPW-qhzw%3DoAB0EsKCB%3DgxDP5JUnsLR3q8wGcmoPF27DeY%2BA%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/CAOukPW-qhzw%3DoAB0EsKCB%3DgxDP5JUnsLR3q8wGcmoPF27DeY%2BA%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list.. Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "AccessIndia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/CAJm3J9y6RoevSQPpynnFQg9nCj2rzxfwQawwZ%2ByBSmGb12-seQ%40mail.gmail.com.
