Dr. K. Banumathi, Director of PSG Vishnugranthi, recently conducted a training programme for teachers of PSG schools focusing on the newly developed mobile-based application for screening dyslexia among school children.
The application was digitalised for easy use by Bhavesh, a student of PSG Institute of Technology and Applied Research (PSG iTech), under the guidance of Rudramoorthy, Director of PSG CARE, and Saravanakumar, Principal of PSG iTech.
Speaking on the development, Dr. K. Banumathi, Director of PSG Vishnugranthi, after formal initial discussions with the Managing Trustee of PSG Institutions & PSG & Sons’ Charities, said the application was developed to address the urgent need for large-scale screening and early detection of dyslexia among children. She said that screening and identifying dyslexic children manually is difficult because of the large number of students.
She added that the Government of India has recently launched another application aimed at creating awareness and improving understanding of dyslexia, dysphasia, and dyscalculia.
“In this highly demanding situation, PSG Vishnugranthi has designed a mobile-based application for dyslexia screening. The application has been validated and tested on 200 children as part of its standardisation process,” she said.
Dr. K .Banumathi further stated that the application was presented to the Managing Trustee & heads of institutions, and teachers of PSG middle and primary schools.
The training covered the child information page, which must be completed before administering the screening questionnaire. The questionnaire is designed to identify children who may be at risk of dyslexia.
“The completed questionnaires will be submitted to PSG Vishnugranthi for further data analysis and assessment,” she said.
To ensure wider outreach and adoption, PSG Vishnugranthi plans to invite a supercomputing technology expert to officially launch the application. “As this is a nation-building initiative, extensive awareness campaigns and publicity efforts will be undertaken to promote its use,” she said.
Children identified through the screening process will be provided with cognitive and remedial training. Dr. K. Banumathi added that PSG Vishnugranthi has also developed remedial teaching methodologies with the support of the Department of Science and Technology to assist children with learning difficulties.
