Mental Health of Visually Impaired students in relation to their Academic Achievement

Authors: Ms. Mecal Ongmu Lepcha

Pages: 33-36

Abstract:

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with in the heart”. -Helen Keller The World Health Organization (WHO) (2002) estimates that for every five seconds someone goes blind. India is a home to World's largest number of blind people. 15 million (25%) blind people live in India out of 45 million blind people found to be present all over the World. Almost 5th of the world‘s visually impaired children live in India. Mental Health is the foundation of our thinking and communication skills, learning, emotional growth, resilience and self- esteem. Mental health or emotional health generally refers to our thoughts, feelings and actions, particularly when faced with life’s challenges and stressors. It is not just the absence of mental disorder. It is a state of well- being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. Academic performance may suffer for children with visual impairments, particularly in reading and writing. Alternative media and tools may help, such as Braille or an alternative form of print. Research shows that children’s developmental competence is integral to their academic competence (Masten et al., 2005). All children are not alike in relation to their mental and physical attributes, some are highly gifted while others are less talented, some have physical disabilities like blindness or low vision, deafness, some are retarded in intellectual development, and some may be emotionally disturbed or are unable to make a proper adjustment in educational institutions or community. Physically handicapped children require support to varying extent from teachers, classmates, family members and the community at large in order to derive the fullest benefits from their school experience, these exceptional children have special needs that demand additional support beyond those ordinarily available in the normal school environment. Such support may be in the form of special educational services, special educational programmes, special infrastructural or learning facilities and most importantly special skills on the part of the teachers in orders to enable them to participate effectively in the learning process in the school setting or outside it.