If I can't learn the way you teach, will you teach me the way I can learn?" Simple, yet profound, this statement voices the innermost fears and feelings of a dyslexic child. When I enter the building at Parel that houses the Maharashtra Dyslexia Association (MDA), these are the first words I see written on a board. Little do I know that they will reverberate in my mind long after I have interviewed 51-year-old Kate Currawalla, the president of MDA.

At MDA, Currawalla strives to create an awareness about dyslexia, a neuro-developmental disorder that affects the language and social skills of a child. MDA conducts workshops, training programmes for parents, teachers, students and psychologists. Apart from offering regular remedial assistance to those diagnosed as slow learners, it also works closely with the state government to implement provisions conducive for the progress of these affected children.

Behind Currawalla's genial smile is a woman who has faced many trials and tribulations, several times in her life. She accepted with fortitude the grave challenge of rearing her two children, both of whom were afflicted with dyslexia, ensuring that they had a good, formal education and a successful career.

Destiny had quite an unusual turn of events in store for this erstwhile freelance journalist and shortfilm maker. After completing her graduation from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, and acquiring a post-graduate diploma in mass communications, Currawalla started working at Doordarshan. She also worked as a freelancer on radio programmes with the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Recalling that experience, she says, "I enjoyed working on a series that focussed on dispelling the stereotypes that the West had about developing countries." Apart from this, she also made some documentaries and was the assistant director, research and script-writer for renowned film historian, B D Garga.

Ask her about what prompted her to take up journalism and Currawalla says, "I was interested in the subject. I always wanted to use the audio-visual medium to make society aware of education related issues." It is not surprising then that today she is striving to provide help and assistance to dyslexics.

She got closely associated with the cause after tragedy struck home and her elder son, Murad, was diagnosed with dyslexia at a young age. Like most parents, Currawalla too was completely unaware that her child was suffering from this learning disability. "Murad was a happy, intelligent and enthusiastic child. During his pre-primary days at Bombay International School, there was a delayed growth in his hand-eye coordination and in his ability to write. But my husband and I didn't find it unusual," she says. Currawalla understood her child's plight only when she told him that he would soon start class I. Murad's reaction was far different from what she had expected. She says, "He said, 'Please don't send me back to school.' He had realised that he would be unable to cope with whatever was taught to him."

Currawalla noticed that Murad would draw inverted images and write from the right corner of the page. He also couldn't construct words properly. He was often teased by his classmates. Those were trying times for both Murad and his family. Recalling a 'painful episode' that occurred when her son was in class IV, Currawalla says, "I was working in the school library. After the bell rang, many students ran towards me and said, 'Aunty, Murad has got a zero in the spelling test.' I was embarrassed. My son avoided me and ran away. Later, I realised that the incident must have been so traumatic for him."