"Each experience through which we pass operates ultimately for our good. This is a correct attitude to adopt and we must be able to see it in that light.”
Raymond Holliwell
Academy of Teacher Excellence
This month two of our students from our Diploma in Special Education (Autism Spectrum Disorder) course volunteered to
share her experience with ATE. Here’s what they said -
“Being in ATE has been amazing. I have been encouraged a lot by everybody in V-Excel in anything I request, especially in
the field of Special Education. I have never been told a “no” as an answer for which I am really grateful to them. The faculty
has been only experts from the field who are experienced for more than a decade. Most of them inspired all of us every time they
came for a class. All this has made me more passionate towards the field. Apart from the faculty, children in KLC have been very
affectionate and this has made my love for the field more intense.
Working with the children of KLC has given me varied experiences. I’ll cite here a different experience I had recently while
working in an Early Childhood Group. One afternoon, I was being evaluated by my mentor, and had prepared a very interesting
art and craft activity for children. To my amazement, I found the children to be so naughty that day that they just wouldn’t
listen to me. They messed the floor with paint, poured all the paint over the chart, made a mess of themselves, painting each
other’s face, legs and hands etc. They just wouldn’t want me to say anything to them. If I did, the situation would go worse.
I think I was a little too soft to them that day and more so, they were in a playful mood. But, I’m sure they had a lot of fun.
That sure was a memorable moment for all of us.”
Ramya Jayaram
“I started my training with ATE in June 2007. It has been a time of tremendous work and learning and an emotional roller coaster
ride of exploration, understanding and experience. Learning to be a Special Educator gives one not only the ability to understand
a child with special needs, but also creates a deeper understanding and acceptance. I personally learnt to effectively unleash
the creativity and intelligence dormant in my daughter. The ATE allowed me the luxury to accept mistakes that children make
as the first step towards learning; this gave me an easier, less anxious way of approaching parenthood. Over all, the year
with the ATE class has given me wonderful friends, an experience worth many a lifetime and learning that has been instilled
spiritually rather than mechanically. I guess I owe it all to the Faculty, Director, Coordinator and the teachers and staff of
V-Excel.”
Rajshree
Early Intervention
The Early Intervention unit at our Shastri Nagar Center has grown from having two children at the inception about
eight months ago to 30 children at present. The objective has been to offer professional services to infants and young
children in the 0-6 age group who have manifested developmental lags in one or more sensory areas. We are very happy to share
that as many as 8 children have started going to Preschool / Primary school and have settled down well.
The emphasis of Sensory Integration Therapy has been on independence in self-help skills, mainly toileting and eating,
and addressing other aspects of development such as neuromuscular skills, cognition and behavior regulatory issues. For helping
some children who need intense support, parents are given a home-based program and trained to work with the child at home.
Regular periodic review and follow up is conducted once a month. The program has run successfully and the parents attend
Regular Periodic review and follow up of the home program.
Vocational Training Unit
Our Vocational Unit has turned into a ‘happening’ place with the Carnival fast approaching. Every student is keen to have
his/her products at the Carnival. Depending upon their individual abilities and interests, the vocational students are working on
various items involving -
Block printing
Screen printing
Art related activities ( cutting and pasting)
Bead work/Jewellery making
The Pre-vocational students, eager to be active participants too, have their hands busy with activities such as craft work,
bead work, binding work. They are supplementing the efforts of students from the vocational course. It is a wonderful sight to
see small teams of young adolescents sitting together working effectively with much higher concentration and increased attention
levels, under the teacher’s guidance, for accomplishing their interesting tasks!
Students are working on ten products for carnival; a few of them are - a 'Things to do' pad, with screen printed design on it,
beautiful greeting cards, using punch craft, decorative gift envelopes.
As the Carnival involves money transactions, we are also giving practical training focusing on money skills. Simultaneously,
communication and personal grooming skills are also being worked on to interact appropriately in the social gathering.
Kaleidoscope Learning Center (KLC) News
It is like the lull after the storm this month as KLC recovers from the hectic routine of the practice sessions for our
Annual Day program – The Very Curious Caterpillar. But the caterpillar from the Musical remains, and so do the leaves and plants
it resides on. The focus this month has been plants and every class in school has studied some aspect of plant life. So we
have germinating seeds, native walks, climbing a mango tree and understanding the parts of a tree, and building a flower
vocabulary as some of the highlights of lessons. An audio visual lesson on insectivorous plants was enjoyed by Primary (A) Section.
We are now busy making articles for the Carnival due in April and holding reviews of IEP goals for every child.
V-Excel Remedial Center (VRC) News
We are grateful to Ms. Sridevi, Principal of Kumara Rani Meena Muthaiya Higher Secondary School (KRMM), for the sensitivity
and empathy shown towards the children with learning difficulties in her school environment. With the joint initiative of VRC
and KRMM School, many of our children have got an exemption in second language and a scribe for other subjects. This path-breaking
endeavor has given the space and time for our children to remedy their lags in reading, writing and math.
Teachers have been extending beyond the call of duty to ease certain specific difficulties for our children with Autism at
their homes with day-to-day aspects such as nail-cutting and hair cutting, to more complex aspects such as unexplained aggression
and uncontrollable tantrums. The parents and teachers have been working in tandem to make it easier for their practical living.
Some of the children with Autism have been responding positively to their favourite music on headphones during their independent
writing practice. We are eager to explore this further as the effect will enable our children to settle with ease in regular school
environment.
Bridges Learning Academy
A field trip to the Guindy National Park was arranged in mid-March. The children were fascinated to see the colourful
birds in their cages and the snakes in their enclosures. The trip was thoroughly enjoyed by one and all as it was a
welcome break from the regular routine.
With the academic year drawing to a close, the students at BLA have been working very hard to complete their assignments
for the term. The end-of-year tests will be conducted between April 4 - 10, 2008.
Individual sessions with parents are being held from the 27th of March. The progress made by each child in different spheres
is highlighted and areas of concern are focused upon for further.
Counseling & Assessment Unit
All the groups, across various service units of V-Excel, that were introduced to play therapy have benefited from the work.
In the special school (KLC), we have been able to facilitate social skills and communication of the children, in our remedial
unit (VRC) we could explore emotional bonding, in school for learning disabilities (BLA) we were successful in building the
group and dealing with their anxieties, while in our vocational unit we worked on conflicts and social communication aspects.
Parental counseling is one area where the response had been lukewarm, but that could be primarily due to low acceptance and
awareness related to special needs. We have already made a beginning with Parent Empowerment Programs and would like to work
more in this area in the forthcoming academic year. We also intend to liaison with schools and other organizations next year
and make counseling available to a large section of the society
Outreach Program
The year end called for a review meeting. All the teachers from our SSA project met at Chennai for taking stock of the
activities carried out during the year and for planning the forthcoming year.
We are very thankful to Britannia Industries Limited for providing biscuits to all our Resource Rooms in 10 blocks of
Villipuram district, and also volunteering to do so on a quarterly basis. Our experience is that biscuits become one of
the motivators in rural areas for special children and their parents to make sure they do not miss the much needed professional
help.
Contact Info :: India:
V-Excel Educational Trust
#1 Norton 2nd Street
Mandaveli Chennai 600 028
Tel: 91 - 44 - 24620243
91 - 44 – 24956373 E-mail us or visit us at www.v-excel.org
Contact Info :: USA:
Academic Concepts, Inc.
1403 Merrywood Drive
Edison, NJ 08817
Tel: (732) 572-3748
Tax ID: 22-3632715 E-mail us
Volunteer Info:
Volunteers are an integral part of our success. Our most pressing needs are in the areas of occupational and speech therapies, and
as teacher aides. We also require assistance in library management.
If you have any of these and are interested in volunteering at V-Excel, please contact us.
India Autism: Trying Tradition
In India, old ideas are giving new options to treating autism. Liz Neisloss reports on that country's approach.
AUTISM. It affects one out of 150 children, according to the 2007 statistic from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's up from 1 out
of every 10,000 kids in 1980.
But while autism initially conjures up images of Dustin Hoffman in "Rain Main," it's time to break from the tired clichés. That's what a new HBO documentary
called "Autism: The Musical" is attempting to do. The documentary follows five special-needs children with varying degrees of affliction as they take part
in a theatrical workshop known as the Miracle Project. The film tackles issues such as the daily struggles, prohibitive costs and lack of options for therapies
and schools - not to mention the strains on both kids and parents.
Symptoms for autism vary significantly. Some children are slightly affected, while others are painfully debilitated. Part of the problem with autism is that
no one knows for certain who can be afflicted or why. One theory is that a child will have a genetic predisposition to the condition, which is then exacerbated
by environmental factors.
The medical community is just starting to scratch the surface. Recently, the English medical journal The Lancet reported that artificial food colors and food
additives help fuel hyperactive behaviors in children at least through middle childhood. Other journals suggest chemicals in air, water, food and even some
medicines negatively affect our bodies. For small kids, the impact of these factors is greater because they're still growing.
While there is no cure for autism, some believe that an organic diet, restricted diets (such as gluten- and casein-free diets), spacing out vaccinations,
early intervention programs and limiting exposure to chemicals and unnatural items can help minimize symptoms.
What should you look for in your child? If your child does not respond to his or her name; appears to be deaf but can hear; flaps, rocks, sways or spins
repeatedly; or has sensory issues with touching, hearing, sight or eating, bring them to a developmental pediatrician who specializes in autism spectrum
disorders. While there's no reason to become paranoid that your child might be affected, remember that most children start to develop normally and then
begin to take on autistic characteristics later. The good news is that the earlier the diagnosis is made, the quicker intervention can begin.
Courtesy: Dr. Rock Postiano
The Autism Awareness Ribbon
The puzzle pattern of this ribbon reflects the mystery and complexity of autism. The different
colors and shapes represent the diversity of people and familiies living wuth this disorder.
The brightness of the ribbon signals hope - hope through research and increasing awareness
in people like you.
