Background

All across the nation, millions of students struggle with different learning disabilities, such as ADHD, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, and many other learning disorders. They not only affect the children's ability to read and write, they also hinder their progress and make it difficult for them to process many new concepts. Research compiled by the NCERT and the Indian Pediatrics Journal states that close to 12% of all school-going students in India struggle with some form of a learning disability.

Despite the large scale and apparent prevalence of these struggles for students, awareness and access remain critically low. Schools, particularly in low-income areas or in government settings, lack learning and developmental specialists and the proper tools and resources.

This can be stated as the leading cause for why up to 90% of students with learning disabilities remain undiagnosed, and have to continue to live in constant stigma while being labeled as “slow” or “lazy” rather than being supported according to their needs.

While it is true that awareness of learning disabilities has grown exponentially in privileged educational areas of the country, fair access to identifying and supporting students remains far from universal, and teachers often try their hardest to help but lack clear guidance or adequate training materials to do so effectively. Parents and siblings too find themselves in a similar, unfamiliar situation, without a clear understanding of screenings and interventions.

The National Education Policy or NEP 2020 emphasized inclusive education and learner diversity. They found that there is an urgent need to bridge this gap by expanding screening access, equipping teachers with the correct pedagogical tools, and fostering large-scale public awareness and empathy for all.

Within this framework, The Learning Arc was created to ensure that inclusive education is not only a privilege but a right accessible to all children.