Our Story

If we closely observe classrooms in India, it is not difficult to notice how learning practices are typically expected, and therefore designed, to conform students to a uniform mould. While this is arguably well-intentioned, this uniformity is achieved at the expense of recognising and thereby acknowledging how different students require different learning processes – ones that address their specific questions and help them understand the concepts discussed in depth. There is a lack of diverse, alternative methods that support neurodivergent students, which has made it common for their concerns to be easily overlooked. 

Recent surveys reveal that in South Asia, only a small fraction of trained teachers receive any instruction in recognising learning differences or applying inclusive educational practices. When we zoom in on the context, we can also see how over 29 million children are out of school in the subcontinent, out of which a significant fraction includes students with disabilities (UNICEF). When it comes to conversations on disabilities, cognitive disabilities are rarely acknowledged, leaving children with learning differences without ample support. This shortfall is most acutely felt in underfunded schools, where it leaves a large number of neurodivergent students – many of whom depend entirely on school for education – unsupported and their skills and talents unseen. 

For students with learning differences, traditional classrooms can be an unfamiliar and uncomfortable terrain. Students will encounter challenges that arise not from a lack of potential but from untapped or insufficiently acknowledged potential, hindered by teaching frameworks incongruent with their specific needs. It is also important to understand that learning differences have a multifaceted impact on children, which is not just limited to academics but also their emotional well-being and social development (L Saleh Al Rasheed, AAM Hanafy).

If a student cannot keep pace with a method, they are inevitably left behind, regardless of their true capacity for engagement with the subject or material. Today, we are also aware of the major steps required to provide holistic support to students with LDs from a very early age so that they can achieve their fullest potential: early identification and interventions, addressing emotional and behavioural challenges, avoiding misidentification and accurate diagnosis, parent-teacher collaboration and education, and raising awareness to offer consistent support (Learning Disabilities in the 21st Century). Above all, it is imperative that we address the larger socioeconomic context in mind – gender, caste, class, urban/rural divide, and access to resources – and this can often look like an exhausting task within the context of India. 

At its heart, MindScapes hopes to address the aforementioned systemic issues in education. Our aim is to broaden learning spaces: to make them aware, inclusive, and adaptive in response to neurodivergence, and to treat neurodiversity not as a deviation or disruption of learning, but as a variation necessary to its optimal function.