Empathy matters. We choose not to exercise it on children with learning deficits. Youngsters who display undiagnosed behaviours endure routine challenges and our ignorance only intensifies their condition. Luckily, InspirEducation – The Bridge School is swiftly taking charge of a deeply flawed education system where orthodox methods of teaching have left abled learners behind. There are countless myths and perpetuated stigmas surrounding children with unique disorders in Pakistan. Many schoolteachers unconsciously force difficult information on capable students, who may require a different approach to instruction. They are unequipped with alternative teaching strategies that can better facilitate them. Consequently, children suffer and their ability to perform further diminishes. InspirEducation – The Bridge School defies the present system of education and rightfully so. Founded by Saba Mohsin, the Academic Behavioural Intervention Support programme kick-started with Headstart School, Islamabad in 2014 and turned out successful. The initiative aims to provide academic support units in mainstream schools across Pakistan. InspirEducation – The Bridge School model brings children of all kinds under one roof. The initiative encourages everyone with learning delays and academic problems to participate. The school builds students together instead of pulling them down and helps them rediscover their potential for the academia. The faculty and staff accommodate the needs of each student and create flexible curriculums tailored to their abilities. It is more about inclusion, not isolation. The systematic programme considers intellectual shortfalls, cognitive gaps and motor skills to enable better learning. The Capoeira Angola summer programme is cognisant to movement therapy and fosters physical, mental and emotional health in children. It boosts students’ confidence and social skills in a conducive learning environment. The heart of InspirEducation is to prepare exceptional students for a brighter future The faculty consists of trained professionals in speech pathology, psychology and dyslexia who work closely with these children. The initiative offers teachers’ training and prepares them to perform vociferously. They begin with short-term goals in line with the students’ personal and professional needs and work their way up to achieve long-term goals. As a result, it empowers abled learners to become an integral unit of mainstream schools. The model relies heavily on creative learning. The use of visual aids and extracurricular activities such as music, arts, sports and swimming accommodate students of all age groups. InspirEducation – The Bridge School is about inclusivity. The programme offers holistic summer camps that are thoroughly engaging and bring out the best in students. Through academic coaching, children with learning deficits are able to come to terms with complexities of math, reading, writing and language. Similarly, handwriting support, which is in junction with the award-winning Handwriting for Tears approach, is an additional offshoot of the program. The dyslexia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) support camps adopt the Orton Gillingham Approach and Wilson Reading Programme to assist students. The process of chunking longer sentences, decrypting reading passages and making sense of words, sounds and alphabets are important learning strategies to combat dyslexia and ADHD. The Capoeira Angola summer programme is cognisant to movement therapy and fosters physical, mental and emotional health in children. It boosts students’ confidence and social skills in a conducive learning environment. The heart of InspirEducation – The Bridge School is to prepare exceptional students for a brighter future. The faculty constantly monitors progress of students to ensure academic and behavioural growth. If a child does not perform extraordinarily at an assigned task, alternative strategies can be probed. There is no hard and fast rule to learning. It is important to understand that people respond to a stimulus differently in thought, emotion and intellectual capacity. Similarly, our teaching methodology ought to be versatile. For instance, a youngster unable to work with numbers may respond well to visual aids or physical demonstration. Not everything is bound to a piece of paper and pencil. The philosophy of InspirEducation – The Bridge School is not mere words; it is constant action. Teamwork and uncompromising efforts have kept the project afloat since its conception. A close-knit crew of dedicated professionals works in unison to make a difference every day. In case of absence, substitute teachers are available to fill in for the faculty. Separate folders containing students’ documentation, demographic profiles and progress charts are readily available to the teachers. There are abundant resources to work with. The faculty can decide how to best utilise facilities to benefit their students. The idea is to draw special attention to their core strengths, not weaknesses. Concerned parents, single mothers and guardians have to withstand the worst of the society simply because their children are unique. They are certainly better humans than most of us. If we act as catalysts of change, we can uplift the spirits of aspiring youngsters and help them achieve wonders. Children of all ages are capable of accomplishing extraordinary goals, if we give them the permission to do so. Whether they are slow learners or prone to basic errors, InspirEducation – The Bridge School is here to help everyone. In the wise words of Robert John Meehan, “It shouldn’t matter how slowly a child learns. What matters is that we encourage them to never stop trying.” The writer is a model and an actor. He can be reached at haiderrifaat95@gmail.com