Visually challenged girl tops Class 12 with 496 marks; says ‘for my parents, I am not special’

Hannah Alice Simon secured the first rank in class 12 Board examinations in the disabled category and showed that disability does not impede success.

Simon is a resident of Kochi and is a motivational speaker, a singer, a YouTuber and now in CBSE class 12th exams she secured 496 marks out of 500. Moreover, she also launched a book on July 15 named ‘Welcome Home’.

“Instead of giving me an education in a school of disabled students, my parents thought of admitting me to a normal school so that I don’t face any difficulty in my further studies in college,” Simon said.

She also talked about her parents who treated her no differently and said, “For my parents, I am not special. All three of us are special equally. I am just one among three children. They never told me that I am different. They always said you are just like other children, I can do anything that the other children can. When my friends were running races, I also wanted to run. My parents used to take me to the school ground and ran with me as they held my hands.”

Simon’s father Simon Mathews credited her mother Lija Simon for Hannah’s confidence and said, “When Hannah was a child, she faced bullying in school. Friends kept her out of friendship. Hannah’s mother is the main person behind her to pull her up, she supported her all the way.”

The 19-year-old Humanities student who studied at Rajagiri Christu Jayanthi Public School in Kakkanad is a topper in the category of students with disabilities in the country,.