On hearing about special children ¿ physically or mentally challenged or suffering from debilitating conditions like Cerebral Palsy ¿ the image of Forest Gump breaking his crutches or that of Darsheel Safary creating his masterpiece painting is what comes to mind, but at Ghatkopar’s Smt Rukshmaniben Amritlal Sheth Shartul Gurukul, special children are simply that — built differently and talented in ways most don’t understand.

A school for special children run by the Shartul Foundation, the Shartul Gurukul is where 60 special children from all corners of Mumbai and from every socio-economic background come every day. Most special here is the school’s belief: That it’s not just the child who requires special treatment but parents and family members as well. “Ultimately, both the parents and children should not be afraid of going out in public because of the child’s limitations. So even parents need to be counselled,” says Parul Shroff, founding member of the Shartul Foundation.

It was in year 1982 that Shroff, 58, along with Ela Mehta, started a toy library for special children. They started with just four members.

Initially, all they got was a cupboard to keep their toys from the Children Orthopaedic Centre in Mahalaxmi. “In those times such therapeutic and educational toys were not available in India and therefore we had to ask friends and relatives to bring them from abroad,” said the visibly relaxed Shroff who herself started her career as a therapist and has been supporting the cause of special children with orthopaedic deficiencies for the past 28 years.

Another aspect of her foundation is the Shartul Club that was established in 1993. “The club was started for the special children and we meet on the second Sunday of every month. The aim is to engage children in activities so that they do not hesitate to come out in public. This leads to emotional security and raises their self-esteem and confidence, turning disabled into differently abled,” she says.

The club has more than 130 members in its roll and members of the club have gone on to become lawyers, doctors and even jewellery designers.

“Ela and me had gone on a trip to Europe and it was on that tour that we decided to do something concrete for spastic children and that is how we started the toy library,” says Shroff, commenting on their initial days. An exhibition and fair organised by the foundation came to an end last week, where the children’s art works were displayed and parents and children mingled, sharing challenges and homegrown strategies to deal with special needs.