Twenty-three-year-old Siddharth Rao lives in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was born to an affluent family, with working parents. Siddharth lives with multiple disabilities including vision impairment, a physical as well as a learning disability.
He went to a mainstream school where he lost out on most topics because he was a slow learner, so his parents sent him to a special school where he could get proper attention from teachers. Siddharth completed Class XII from open schooling and decided not to study further.
Thereafter he spent most of his time engrossed in the phone or his computer. Worried for his future, his parents wanted to engage him in something more productive. Looking for an intervention, they came across Eyeway Helpdesk. The family visited the Eyeway center at Victoria Memorial School for the Blind (VMSB) in Mumbai, and shared his challenges.
Our Helpdesk counselor understood the need for education, employment as well as proper rehabilitation and guided Siddharth for the same. He was advised to complete his graduation from an open university alongside learning to use computers with screen reading software from VMSB.
Understanding that Siddharth was an active and creative individual, the counselor suggested picking up hobbies and vocational training. He was suggested to take up massage training which could also turn out to be a profession for him. As he liked to cycle, the counselor recommended tandem cycling along with his sibling. An activity that would be exciting and liberating at the same time.
In the process of sharing solutions with the family, Eyeway helped them see the potential in their son, and the opportunities that could become real for Siddharth with just a little bit of guidance.