The Inclusive Playschools Way! - With Umayal Thiagarajan

Down South, near the cusp of where Cauvery meets Bay Of Bengal, lies the district of Thanjavoor, which is known for its arts and crafts, tradition, and Carnatic music! We have known this district which is known for bringing about wonderful musicians, great artisans, and musical instruments like Veena and Tamboora!
Umayal Thiagarajan is an entrepreneur in Thanjavoor who runs three playschools called 'Squirrels', which integrates regular children with children with intellectual disabilities. When I spoke to Umayal, I found her to be with clarity, confidence, and a lot of grit. She moved from Madurai to start these schools in Thanjavoor, and also possesses the experience of running those schools during Covid!
In this podcast, we talked about her playschools, their curriculum, how she integrates children with intellectual disabilities with regular children, how does she assess if a child has intellectual disability, what facilities and tools does her school provide for such children, and what to do when she could not integrate a child to her school in case of serious difficulties. She also shares about the field trips that she takes the children to.
Umayal also shares with us her hobbies of crafts and knitting. She shares her plans for the future, and an issue that needs to be addressed in the education field in the area of vernacular languages.
Sit back, Relax, and Listen In, as this could potentially be a motivational podcast for women!