Support yields CSEC success for teen with Cerebral Palsy

Davindra Bridgmohan (at left) with his mother, Indira, father, Yoganand, and two younger siblings in their newly-built home. The home was specially designed to cater to Davindra’s needs.
Davindra Bridgmohan (at left) with his mother, Indira, father, Yoganand, and two younger siblings in their newly-built home. The home was specially designed to cater to Davindra’s needs.

Like many of his peers, Davindra Bridgmohan is today celebrating his success at the recently concluded Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, where he secured 10 passes. Bridgmohan is, however, not exactly like his peers, as he has Cerebral Palsy (CP), which severely affects his mobility.

Diagnosed at just six-months-old, Davin, as he is called by family and friends, has never let his condition stop him and with the support of his family, classmates and teachers from nursery school all the way to Form Five, he is one step closer to his dream of becoming a civil engineer. 

“I never really take on my disability. I just move forward and think like a normal child. So, for others with a similar disability, I say nothing is wrong with you. You are just the same as a normal child,” Bridgmohan, 17, told Stabroek News.

Davindra Bridgmohan is supported by his mother Indira as he collects his certificate at his graduation from McGillivray Primary School

He said when he learnt of his results, he “was shocked and very happy.”

“Some of the subjects were really surprising, like Maths. That exam was very hard. I came home after and had fever all night,” he said.

He earned Grade 1 passes in English Language, Principles of Business, Electronic Document Preparation and Management, and Agricultural Science, as well as Grade 2 passes in Physics, Integrated Science, Social Studies, Mathematics and Technical Drawing with a concentration in Building Technology.

Bridgmohan, who attended no extra lesson, is certain that his success would not have happened if not for his teachers and classmates at West Demerara Secondary.

“I listened to everyone who told me I could do it. All my teachers were very supportive. They were my number one supporters and worked with me so I could do well. My mother was my tutor and my friends were always there. Anywhere they go, they take me with them; where they can’t push me they carry me,” he shared.

This support both touched and worried his mother, Indira.

Davindra Bridgmohan in his specially made desk and bench with his Grade 2 teacher by his side.

“His success is because he felt at home at school and that’s because of how everyone treated him. I even said to myself, these children making him lazy because he just have to say what he wants and they do it for him,” she laughingly shared.     

Though Bridgmohan uses a walker, he has limited mobility and it was up to his father, Yoganand Bridgmohan, to play his part.

“Grade 7, 8 and 9 [were] on the top flat, so my husband had to lift him upstairs in the morning and lift him down in the afternoon. The children would lift him and take him anywhere he need to go during the day but in Form 3 the school made the decision to bring him downstairs and he remained there with the classes coming to him,” his mother explained.

She repeatedly stressed that the Headmaster, “Sir Harry,” and all other staff members were kind and willing to help.

“The teachers, the student, the guards and cleaners, everybody was nice to him,” the grateful mother noted.

This type of support is what has helped Bridgmohan reach significant milestones throughout his life.

‘Like a miracle’

According to his mother, when they first received his diagnosis they were worried about his future.

CP describes a group of neurological disorders that affect movement, muscle tone or posture and is caused by damage that occurs to the immature, developing brain, most often before birth. Globally, approximately 17 million people have various forms of CP, which vary in severity.

“We never knew what life would look like for him. All children with CP are affected differently but we continued to pray and then it was like a miracle,” she shared

He went to McGillivray Nursery School, where he was welcomed.

“The teachers were very nice and helpful. Ms. Shabna used to hoist him up and take him everywhere. She even went over to second year with him. The children, too, were really nice to him as well and that made him want to go to school. He never one day want to stay home,” she explained.

The only moment of uncertainty came in Grade 1 when his teacher didn’t want to work with him.  “Every day she would complain that she couldn’t handle him and ask me to come to school. The headmaster even tell me about a special school in Georgetown and I was really frustrated and didn’t know what to do,” she said.

It was the headmistress of the Nursery school who once again stepped forward. “The nursery and primary school shared a wall and the HM of the nursery called me in a day and explained a lot of things to me. She showed me a paper that said children with physical disability have to be accepted in public school as long they can learn at the same rate as other students,” the mother explained.

Armed with this knowledge, she told the headmaster that her child was not going anywhere and he completed that year as a top ten student.

“After that we had no problems. His teachers all worked with him and he always placed either second or third. I realised my child could learn like anybody else and we made him a special bench and chair so he could have all he needed,” she said.

In Grade 5 it was decided by the class teacher, “Ms Onika,” that he would no longer be segregated from the rest of the class and the “special” furniture was

discarded.

Davin’s classmates were taught to help him reach his pencil and books and he was allowed to participate in sport and other social activities.

“I did the walk race and cricket ball throw. My teachers involved me in everything,” he said.

At the end of his six years at McGillivray Primary School, Davin earned 500 marks at the National Grade Six Examination and was awarded a place at St Joseph High School. His parents decided to enroll him in his mother’s alma mater, West Demerara.

At the time of the transfer, they were concerned about the logistics of transporting Davin to Georgetown from their Canal Number 1 home. Five years later this concern is once again at the forefront of their mind. 

“I really want him to further his studies but we are not financially equipped to help him further his study. We just build our home, so it is difficult to facilitate his study. If he want to go to the University of Guyana, travelling would be a challenge. I would love for him to have the option to study from home,” his mother shared.

Davin is, however, looking to attend the Government Technical Institute to possibly improve his understanding of physics before moving on to university. “I have been encouraged by my electricity teacher to go to TI first because of the physics but my parent can’t really afford for me to further my studies now,” he shared.