Episode 16: In Conversation with Anandita Kumar

Inclusion with Mansi

Anandita Kumar is 20 years old. She is one person I have met that never gives up, no matter what the challenges are. I have had the pleasure of working with her since she was 12 years old. I am so proud of her!

Currently she is doing her graduation from Pune University through a distance course. She is learning to be a music therapist. Drumming is her hobby and she wants to teach special needs children music and how to blossom in their journey.

Her strength is that she connects with people, intuitively. She is aware of their feelings and emotions. She is a good organizer in timetable and study. Everything is in a structured way. She is a good leader. She can pay attention to details. She never gives up in life. She gives her 100% to everything. She never gives up. She has a positive mind and makes her thoughts and feelings heard.

She was diagnosed with CP at a very young age. She acquired it. She had delayed milestones and Learning Disability too. She is not okay with who she is. Music helped her a lot. Her sister helped her a lot in her journey. She was a good emotional support for her. Tarak Mehta ka Ulta Chasma really helped her too and it made her laugh and calm her down.

In school, she struggled to cope with mainstream school and then moved to open schooling (NIOS). There was flexibility during the board exam and it helped that she could do 2 papers at a time. It was still a challenge on how to study and how much to write. The flexibility was very helpful. She gave her 10th and 12th board exams through NIOS. Now her subjects in college are similar to what she has learned earlier.

Having dropped Math she still feels that it is an important subject and that the basics of Math and functional Math everyone should know, as Math is everywhere. Make Math your buddy like you have your phone. She was very scared of Math and once when she got a zero her teacher encouraged her to try and not give up. There is nothing to fear in Math as it is everywhere. Have fun with Math and Math will have fun with you.

She is taking free sessions for children with special needs where she teaches them how to play djembe. Her students enjoy attending her class. It improves their self confidence. The more happy people are, the more they benefit. They feel a part of something and feel belonging.

She was the head girl in class X. She has good leadership skills.She is going to set up a music institute to teach young special needs children music. She is currently looking for a space to begin once she will be certified music therapist in October.

For students: Take the diagnosis in a good way rather than labelling. Cope with your diagnosis and ask for help especially from parents, teachers and friends. Friends are an important part of your help. Have motivation to try new things.

She has done teacher training and front office management courses. Explore and experience different and new things like bouldering and travelling by train to Hampi for a school trip. Adjusting from offline to online and then back to offline and online is tough

Hindi songs and Tarak Mehta serial help to calm her down. She is a hardcore Bollywood dance music fan. All the emotions come out when I listen. For parents: Believe in your child. Don’t run all the time. Everyone is in a hurry to reach the milestones. Milestones can be delayed, keep calm and see what happens. Accept your child as they are. Go for all the therapies. I used to hate exercise but now I like to do it for fitness.

She has sailed through 9 surgeries. She is looking forward to her last surgery.

For teachers: practice inclusion from your heart and don’t pretend to be inclusive. Be more caring and create a safe space for your students.

In October 2019 she became an assistant drum teacher. Her teacher, Zubin,is encouraging, very supportive and an awesome teacher. He is funny and strict when he needs to be.