"The only way to make friends with time is to stay friends with people…. Taking community seriously not only gives us the
companionship we need, it also relieves us of the notion that we are indispensable." Robert McAfee Brown
V-Excel News
V-Excel Educational Trust was awarded the Service Excellence Rolling Trophy by Baha’i Community for its ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Society’.
Our Founder-Director Dr. Vasudha Prakash received the Award for our institution. The Baha'is community is actively engaged in a process of individual
and social transformation, through a collective learning enterprise.
The start of the month witnessed a series of meetings reviewing the activities of the present year, planning for the next year and ensuring smooth
system development at V-Excel.
The National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD) had organized a two-day south regional workshop in Chennai.
Our Managing Trustee, Mrs. B. Sundari, participated in this workshop that focused on the theme - Role of Stakeholders in Implementing UNCRPD.
Dr. Vasudha was invited by ‘Sanmvedana’ of Nagpur, a school for children with autism, to deliver the workshop on ‘Growth of an autistic child through
adolescence and the education to handle the same’. The workshop was immensely beneficial to guide parents on how to handle the children when they are
going through various changes in their adolescence stage.
Kaleisdoscope Learning Centre
Our school ended this academic year on a reflective note. Intense discussions and meetings - with parents and among teachers, about the children
and the curriculum, were the flavour of the month. The parents were all called together and a review of what we have been working on with the
children was presented. Each class teacher produced reports in their own unique way and had one-on-one meetings with parents. Some children who
were moving to other schools due to mainstreaming, transfer, or other reasons were given a special farewell. Some of the children graduated from
one class to the next; a special ceremony was performed for them in class. They felt happy and proud.
A special ceremony called "I Ring A Bell" was performed for the teachers. Their strengths were highlighted and directions for improvement discussed
while a bell was rung in their honour. The children and teachers left school happy, looking forward to the summer holidays. The teachers also left with
a very strong sense of wanting to come back to another year of hard work, introspection and dedication to the path they have begun to walk on….....
Academy for Teacher Excellence
The year-long Diploma in Special Education (Autism) is in its last phase and the trainees had their model exams in the first week of this month.
The classes came to a close, followed by a farewell party held on 6th of April. The trainees came dressed in their best attire and had organized
fun games to enjoy their time together. The organization arranged for the lunch and invited the faculty members. Sharing of gifts and words of gratitude
filled the occasion. The new-teachers to be were all very enthusiastic and took a group photo along with the administrative staff and faculty of the
school. It was truly a memorable event.
The trainees will now be gearing up for writing their final exams in May 2010.
Early Intervention Unit
We welcome our new Volunteer from Germany Anne-Marie who is showing keen interest in learning and working with the children of our Unit.
We have just begun group remedial work with young special children and we hope the program will start yielding good results in the months to come.
Some of the common issues such as gross and fine motor skills are being addressed under this program, after careful grouping of children based on
their skill and need levels.
In the academic year due to resume in June 2010, we shall continue providing sensory integration and remedial training to children between 0-7 years.
We shall also extend support to the children trained with us and been mainstreamed this year.
Bridges Learning Academy
We are very happy that 6 out of our 10 children could go back to their schools! What is more important is they joined back at the same level
as they would have been had they continued in the regular school, as they are now much better equipped to cope with their academic work. For us,
the immense sense of satisfaction comes from the fact that they went back far more confident and a lot happier!
We have been working in a concerted fashion with children having learning disabilities such as dyslexia. The pull-out program we run is time bound
and our sincere attempt is to see that the child can integrate back into the regular school within one-three years, depending on the severity of the case.
We are open for admissions for the forthcoming year and will be taking in students after an assessment of their learning needs. This is the baseline
information that goes in for appropriate individualized goals.
V-Excel Remedial Centre
We organized a fun day ‘Share a Smile’ for all students of V-Excel. The events of the day were fancy dress and painting for the children and
rangoli for the mothers. Students of the Hopping Pebbles group presented a small play called ‘Three Little Fishes.’ As a token of appreciation,
participation certificates were issued to all the children.
Apart from our regular work, summer classes have been organized for remedial students for them to learn to share, care, socialize, and enjoy the
experience of a group. As a part of their curriculum, students are taken for nature walk. Students love to go out with their group mates and enjoy
collecting leaves and flowers.
Rural Outreach Program
This month was characterized by series of meetings with the Special Educators. A thorough review was undertaken and learnings were shared.
We have planned Awareness camps in each block that includes drama, procession, entertainment, announcements and lectures, etc.
An overview of the work done and experiences at the Resource Rooms and Day Care Centers revealed encouraging feedback on the progress of children
with special needs. Several cases were discussed and their positive results gave a direction for future work.
Based on the surveys conducted in the past months, a list of rehabilitative appliances has been drawn up. We are seeking support from the community
as funds are not adequate to take care of all the requirements.
Vocational Training Unit
Hooray! The V.T Unit has completed three academic years now. Kitchen and cooking work, paper bag making, computer training, tailoring
and screen printing have been the main skills. We set aside time to do a thorough review and to evaluate all the activities.
Dr. Vasudha presented the original ‘vision’ for the Vocational Unit as there are new members who joined our team. After a detailed discussion
we decided that we will broadly work on three groups, as given below, based on the skill level and interest area of the children. The program planning
and designing would be around these.
Placement group – placement at some job/employer site
Shelter workgroup – working at our Center
Self-help group – creating a group of parents who can initiate work
We also discussed how records are to be kept, admission forms, guidelines for parents and other structures.
After the Progress Report meetings individually with the parents, Dr. Vasudha addressed the parent body. She spoke with them about the deeper
issues of parenting, of letting go of their children, and allowing them to become independent. She also urged them to be more active in working
along with us in planning the long term future of the child.
There have been a couple of departures; one of our students, Ashutosh moved to Delhi and Kassy David who has been a Volunteer for three years,
moved to Bangalore. We shall definitely feel their absence.
Our field trip this month was to National Agro Foundation in Kancheepuram District. Their hospitality, the games they planned for us, and their
openness to teach helped us not just to learn many new things but also have a fantastic time!
This year we had some amazing field trips – a movie, shopping, eating out at a restaurant, visits to Jain Temple, Gurudwara, Church, Milk Factory,
Snow World etc.. Each one gave the students a unique exposure and experience. We also had fun celebrations during Deepavali, Christmas and Pongal.
All these helped the trainees to become self-confident, social and communicative.
We reopen on 2nd June 2010 for a week of training for the staff. We then have a one day workshop for the parents and then our Center opens for the
students on 9th June
Counseling and Assessment Unit
Our Department has been working very closely with parents of many special children. We find that intense counseling is required for both the
parents, with focus on different issues for each. We feel good that we have been able to make a significant shift in attitude and approach of
some of the parents.
Our plans in the ensuing months will include more extensive service across the various units of V-Excel, besides the external clientele. We shall
also invest more time in assessment for children from regular schools for early identification of learning problems and in counseling children with
emotional and behavioural issues.
We have just begun making inroads in the area of hospital care. We do pre-operative and post-operative counseling as well as counsel terminally
ill cancer patients, cases with psychosomatic conditions etc. While this initiative is in its nascent stage, we are hopeful of taking it taking it
forward with more focus in the near future.
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.
It gives us great pleasure inviting you for one of the most significant events of our organization, the ATE Convocation on 2nd June 2010. ATE,
or Academy for Teacher Excellence, is a flagship unit of V-Excel Educational Trust that addresses the need for trained manpower
in the field of Special Education.
This year, twelve teachers with prestigious and well-earned Diplomas in Special Education (Autism) will step into the world with their specialized
training to make a difference to young special lives, thereby enriching their own. This event allows the students, faculty, family, and friends to
acknowledge and appreciate the hard work and determination required for one to complete an academic program.
It is our goal to make this a memorable and enjoyable event for the graduates, their families, and their friends. Your cooperation and patience is
essential to make this ceremony a success. We request that you arrive at the venue one hour beforehand.
We certainly hope to see you there.
Enhancements to our Website
We are pleased to announce some enhancements to our website. In an on-going effort to keep the content current and to reach a wider audience,
we have included some additions:
V-Excel Community Forum - Parents, professionals and other interested individuals are invited to post information or respond to queries regarding children
with special needs. Together we can learn about alternative and innovative treatments, therapies, and ideas that support all dimensions of development
and health for children with developmental delays and disabilities. Members of our forums are actively encouraged to communicate with each other.
The forum is intended to provide an onlime meeting place and a support group for anyone who deals with children with special needs. Come and share
your experiences, and learn from others.
Event Calendar - Our online event calendar will contain information about the goings-on and the happenings in our school and in the community. We
encourage you to check the event calendar regularly for updates and information.
Videos - We have included a video link under the "Albums" menu. The videos are short clips of life in our school and have been compiled over
the years of our evolution. More clips will be provided as they are edited and condensed for display on the web.
