Strategies to promote the Reading Habits Among the Special Children: Futuristic Approach with Retrospective Insights

Abstract

Special children beyond their disabilities, possess unique skill sets which may not be explicit, but when consistently honed, helps them excel. The Literacy skills like reading, writing, speaking and listening are indispensable for all including the special children to succeed in life endeavours. As inclusivity is mandatory for the progress of any country, it’s the duty of the government to provide all amenities and educate them. Special children have the fundamental right to learn to read. Reading is the primary process of gaining knowledge which needs to be taught to all, beyond their capacities. The special children can be categorized mainly into three groups depending on the impairment viz Sensory, Physical or Mental or Intellectual Disability. This paper explores the strategies and techniques to promote reading among the special children by analyzing the previous research and evaluating with the help of a study conducted in a special school with the strategies. Finding of the study showed a mild improvement in the attitude towards reading among the special children. Moreover, Assistive and Accessible Technologies are utilized at its best with Artificial Intelligence, IoT, Robotics and ML for transforming the special children to readers/learners effectively and efficiently.