Prayatna was established in Bangalore in July 1998 to provide intervention services to children, who despite being intelligent and motivated, experience 
specific academic difficulties. Aruna Sankaranarayanan, the Founder/ Director of Prayatna, was motivated to start a centre for children with learning difficulties in India when she was an undergraduate student at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. While doing a summer internship, she found that most Indian schools did not provide any additional facilities for children with learning disabilities. She then equipped herself over a period of six years with the necessary knowledge and experience to start a centre in Bangalore. She completed her doctorate in developmental psychology at Harvard University and was awarded a fellowship by the Echoing Green Foundation in New York to set up a centre in Bangalore.
A branch in Chennai was opened in April 2001. Prayatna has so far provided assessment & intervention services to over 300 children. Children who have difficulties in acquiring the basic academic skills of reading, spelling & elementary math are likely to benefit from Prayatna’s programs. At Prayatna, children play games and perform activities that enhance specific sub-skills that are required for mastering the 3 “R”s namely, reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic.
Services offered by Prayatna:
- Assessment of children experiencing academic difficulties(including I.Q. assessments)
- Intervention programs that cater to individual needs of children
- Setting up resource rooms in schools
- Workshops for teachers on learning disabilities; effective methods of teaching reading & language skills
- Training programs for parents
- Special-education training for teachers
- Spreading awareness of learning disabilities through lectures & demonstrations
- Development of teaching aids & tools to impart specific sub-skills
PROGRAMS
PRAYATNA’s Language and Math programs target the following skill areas:
- Reading
- Spelling
- Oral & Reading Comprehension
- Oral & Written Expression
- Vocabulary
- Handwriting
- Mathematical Concepts till Grade V
Prayatna Protocol
- Interview with parents to obtain a detailed account of the child’s birth and developmental history
- Feedback from the child’s teacher through questionnaire
- Assessment at PRAYATNA
- Remedial program drawn up
- Progress of child monitored closely& goals modified accordingly
- Report given to parents every year
Contact details
Centre for Educational Assessment & Intervention
26 Palace Road
Bangalore-560052
India
Tel: (080)-22280831
Centre for Educational Assessment & Intervention
57, Prithvi Avenue
Chennai 600 018
India.
Tel: (044)-42112971
email: prayatna@vsnl.com
Very happy to see this type of organisation with target of helping the students with learning problems . I am a science teacher but I want to be a special teacher for special students but not getting the way. How?