A group of children from a school presented an adaptation of The Little Mermaid in Bengali alongside Aladdin and the Magic Lamp in English at their December annual programme.
This is a frequent event in various schools around the city, but in this case,
the notable difference was that of the 140 children on stage, 90 were neurodivergent, and the rest were neurotypical.
As the pupils of Bloomingdale Academy High School in Kalikapur presented the plays, their shared intention was to communicate a message of inclusion and acceptance.
During Ariel’s birthday celebration in the adaptation of The Little Mermaid, the guests included both children with special needs and neurotypical children, a scenario that parents of neurodivergent children would like to see more frequently in real life.
In Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, a teenager who is a slow learner and struggles to cope with academics played the role of a genie who had not memorised his lines alone, but those of others too.
Whenever any child remained absent during rehearsal, this boy would fill in for them.
Another group of children with autism performed to Bum Bum Bole from the film Taare Zameen Par.
“We wanted to convey the message that despite the challenges, they have talent and abilities that need to be recognised,” said Pradipta Kanungo, director, Bloomingdale Academy High School.
An inclusive school, the institute was founded in 2011 to have children with and without disabilities grow and learn together.
The school had started with a 60:40 ratio, where for every 100 students, 60 were without disabilities and 40 with disabilities, but over the years, parents of neurotypical children would withdraw their children from the school.
“We now have a 70:30 ratio. Only 30 per cent of the children are neurotypical,” said Kanungo.
The school’s objective is not just to mainstream the neurodiverse children but to change the mindset of the parents of neurotypical children.
“Children do not make distinctions among themselves whatsoever. They consider all of their peers to be equal. They comprehend that if one of their friends cannot copy from the blackboard swiftly, they will ask the teacher to reduce the speed. For a neurodiverse child, they attempt to adhere to the same criteria by observing their friends,” expressed Kanungo.
But some parents are non-accepting and feel the pace of teaching in the classroom is slowing down,” said Kanungo.
“Modern classrooms are about multi-level learning approaches. If there is an academically bright child, the teacher will not just teach them the syllabus alone, but also give them problems that will challenge them. Similarly, if there is someone who is academically not that strong, the teacher has to teach the content in a manner that they can understand,” she said.
Kanungo said that despite producing “success stories” and showcasing the talents, the school still fights for acceptance and inclusion.