Shraddha Shilimkar

Shraddha progressed from a hearing impaired child who could not speak at the age of 6 to a young girl, who is a blackbelt holder in Karate, a bharat natyam dancer and has scored 65% in her SSC exams this year. (read more) photo- dance, compering, drama

 

There she was – a timid girl of six years age, hiding behind her mother, looking blankly at all the things around her.

They had come from a remote village. Her mother asked Mrs Raksha Deshpande if her child would ever speak. Actually the age for developing speech is 0 to 6 yrs, but Raksha madam accepted the challenge.
 

Her hearing loss was 100%. Vanita, Shraddha’s mother, procured the hearing aid and brought her to Moraya center, Chinchwad, for speech therapy every day for a year.
 

Then Raksha madam took her to Manoram Bal Vidyalaya and requested Mrs Ketkar to allow her to just sit in the class for a few months. For two months, the teachers said that she did not respond to anything and did not talk nor mingle with other children. But at the end of the year she started speaking single words and mixing up with other children.
 

She also made friends with Asawari Kulkarni from the same class, who was also hearing impaired to some extent. Both attended school and speech therapy together. Later, both the girls joined Bharat Natyam classes, and the Annual Gathering of Swaranaad was never complete without their dance on various themes. 
 

Today, this timid girl has blossomed into a beautiful flower. She is a karate black belt holder and she has passed her Standard 10th exam with flying colours.