Mentally challenged and love

During a public awareness meeting in school teachers group, after my talk, one of the teachers asked" what is that in your opinion which is most important in managing mentally challenged children". Instantly, I replied that it is the love and affection which is most important and at the same time is most effective also. And I sincerely believe in this. Whenever we appoint any new staff, we have a system of orienting this new member before he actually starts working with the mentally challenged children. During this orientation phase[ which could be from one day to three days, depending on the type of person and his background.] apart from imparting technical information on mental disability, I have been telling them that, if they can not love the mentally challenged children they can not teach these children. During the above mentioned awareness meet, the teacher who had asked me this question, immediately asked, do they understand love? I felt sorry about this enquiring lady teacher who was not knowing the eternal of God. Or I may say that she did not realise it. I said if plants and all animals they can respond to a loving gesture than is it not most natural for mentally challenged to understand love and affection? I told them a incidence which occurred in our campus during the visit of three guests. It so happened that, one of my good acquaintances along with his two friends called on our Sandnya Srushti campus. I took them around on the campus tour. While going through each class room I was trying to explain the relevant things about those special children and what was being done their. When we entered in a particular class, students wished good morning to our guests. In response to this my friend was trying to interact with one of the students and he was responding in a positive way. My friend asked the same student to wish his co-visitor and our student did not respond. He tried many attempts but failed. We continued with our tour. These people were in our campus for almost two and half ours, during this period, when we were alone my friend asked me the reason why that particular student did not reciprocate to his accompanying friend? I said it seems your friend is not interested in these children and probably he has come here against his wish and you might have prevailed upon him for this visit. I said I may be wrong also, but my experience tells me that unless we love them genuinely from the bottom of our heart they normally do not respond.

It was about after a week, my friend called on me in my Nagpur office. On asking what is the purpose of the visit? He said, I have come to tell you that, you were right that my co-visitor was not interested in those children and he accepted that he had come just to please me. And I must mention that this is not the isolated example but by and large a rule. So the thumb rule is first love mentally challenged and than expect progress in them which will eventually follow. I personally feel that love can not be pretended and by doing that we make ourselves pitiable.