"If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.."
...Mohandas K. Gandhi
V-Excel News
On World Autism Awareness Day, 2nd April, we aligned with the global campaign by asking our staff, friends, and well-wishers to 'Light it up Blue'.
The call for spreading the blue light was to urge everyone to help raise awareness throughout the society about autism and to encourage early
diagnosis and early intervention. It further expressed a deep concern at the prevalence and high rate of autism in children around the world.
We are very happy to announce that our Satellite Centers at Nashik and Tirunelveli have commenced their operations. The demand for Remedial
Intervention and Occupational Therapies in these towns is extremely high and we promise to put our best foot forward to cater to all the needs
of the children with developmental disabilities.
While April was a month of the political election excitement in Chennai, but at V-Excel, it was excitement of another kind. Two experts on
Waldorf Education and Eurythmy - Ms. Aban Bana & Ms. Dilnawaz Bana were in Chennai from 9th to 12th April 2011. They conducted an excellent
workshop for both, the first timers and those who were on advanced level. Dilnawaz patiently guided the newcomers through some of Rudolf Steiner's
concepts and Aban took the experienced ones to new heights. They both sustained our interest & enthusiasm and kept us hungry for more.
We are all looking forward to applying what we learnt from them in the forthcoming academic year.
Dr. Vasudha Prakash, our Founder-Director, conducted a workshop in Cognizant Technologies and a presentation to the Jacob Kuruvilla Initiatives
group. We also had RCI (Rehabilitation Council of India) inspection and visit during this month.
Kaleisdoscope Learning Centre
Our school closed on 8th April, after a week of parent meetings, reviews and small group meetings to help parents be effective partners in
the teaching process for their children.
As a part of our continuing Parent Education Program, Gita Bhalla (Principal), conducted a reading workshop for 23 parents, John Miller
(Occupational Therapist) addressed a group of 12 parents to explain the importance of rhythm and Sushma (Counselor) spoke to parents and
grandparents about setting boundaries and helping children become more independent. We sincerely hope that with this endeavour, we are able to
fill some of the gaps that are sometimes felt between home and school teaching and between parent expectation and school delivery systems.
The last day of school was celebrated as a carnival of sorts. The fun day organized by the teachers was much enjoyed by the children, parents
and siblings. The beach merry-go-round and the hand drawn giant wheels were a great hit. A big thanks to Saradha, the brain behind the fun day,
and to Sowmya for sponsoring the giant jumping castle that brought great smiles to a whole lot of children!
Detailed reports were handed over to parents and the school closed on a celebratory note as all children will be moving on to a more enhanced
curriculum in the coming term that begins in June.
In the month of May, the summer holidays, it's the time for all the behind the scenes work to take place. Most teachers have been in and out of
the school sprucing it up and giving a helping hand to the office staff that is busy organizing material and getting some new furniture made.
The school is getting set to welcome the new term, the smiling faces of the children, and the old and new teachers.
Academy for Teacher Excellence
The concluding days of the one year Diploma course in Autism proved to be full of activity for the trainees. After the submission of all the
case study projects and observation reports, the trainees appeared for their Second Internal Examination. Along with the anxiety, was a sense
of joy and satisfaction among the trainees about their achievements throughout the year! There was contentment about the hard work put in and
the joy experienced being with the children in the school.
On the last day, while there was happiness among the trainees, there was also a tinge of sadness that the year had passed by so swiftly and
that they would miss all the valuable experiences they had at V-Excel. Trainees decided they would start studying for their final university
examination with renewed vigor, after a short hard-earned break!
Early Intervention Unit
In the month of March and April, year-end reviews were conducted for all the children. Session observations were organized to enable parents
to see the therapy rendered to their child and give their feedback.
Home program was handed out to all the parents. Generalization of skills achieved, school readiness and functional independence formed integral
part of home program. Some parents, who were new to the activities, were given special training to carry out the home program.
Age appropriate play skills were facilitated to enhance development in areas like speech. Parents were given an orientation on the importance
of communication and movements in everyday activity, and their impact in development of speech.
Toilet training, feeding and grooming, which are integral part of the functional independence were facilitated, while sensory exploration and
play were introduced in home and general situations.
The year concluded on a successful note with about 10 children from our Early Intervention program getting mainstreamed and children joining
nursery school.
Bridges Learning Academy
Come April and May, and it's the time for the teachers to dive into the question-answer papers, reports and the results, while children look
forward to their summer holidays.
Exams were conducted in the first week of April and in the same week, parent meetings were also held. Parents, along with the respective class
teachers, met Dr. Vasudha Prakash. She was appraised about each child's progress. Parents were very happy to interact with her and get a perspective
on their child's progress.
BLA is very proud to announce that six out of a group of eleven children have left to join mainstream schools. Two of them have gone to inclusive
schools, one to a regular school and three to Saraswati Kendra where they would appear for NIOS. The academic year 2010-2011 was not without
any hurdles, but the fact that we have trained six children for integration makes us feel happy and rejuvenated. All's well that ends well!
V-Excel Remedial Centre
Term end review meeting happened with parents, program coordinator and all staff. Each student's progress was discussed with the parents and
the program coordinator answered the queries raised by the parents related to their child's remedial program, diet that is being followed,
and a few behavioural concerns.
A Fun Day was organized by KLC and the remedial department put up a watermelon stall. It was a joyful to see children enjoy buying and eating
this delicious summer fruit.
Few new students have taken remedial assessment and they will join the remedial program from June 2011.
Summer camp was planned for all children with special needs. This was conducted from 15th April to 30th April. 24 students participated in this
half-day program. Students were grouped and named as Watery Melons, Merry Mangoes and Little Lemons. Many activities like stitching a pouch,
clay modeling, storytelling, drama, singing, painting, games, and cooking were highlights of the camp. Students were also taken to a park where
they enjoyed the swings and slides as well as bird watching. Water Day was planned to soothe us all from the scorching heat. Students made
paper bags to carry the products made during the camp along with their photos pasted in the photo frame. Though the summer was blazing, the
enjoyment was wonderful!
Few students who could only have one-on-one training moved a step ahead to be able to join a group teaching format. We are happy that they have
got admission in our KLC Special School and will be playing and learning alongside their friends.
It is difficult to say goodbye to the people who have put in a lot of hard work, and shown enthusiasm and dedication to their work. The remedial
teachers' Kejal, Gunasundari and Ashraf were given a farewell party, with our best wishes and prayers for their future.
Dusting and cleaning, mending and arranging of things in the classrooms, was done in the summer and the classrooms were set ready to welcome the
next academic year.
As teachers, it was time to take a good summer break, to enjoy unhurried mornings and leisurely evenings, helping us relax and prepare ourselves
to begin a fresh new year.
Rural Outreach Program
The months of April and May have been busy with a lot of exploratory work. Our Special Educators went house to house compiling information
for identification and profiling of persons with disabilities, especially children.
A number of awareness speeches and programs were conducted across all the ten blocks of Villipuram district to ensure knowledge of various
developmental and physical disabilities, ways of identifying these and also building sensitivity among the people.
Vocational Training Unit
Trainees made certificates for the 'Eurythmy Workshop' by doing stroke painting, cutting big sheets and finally screen printing them. The
trainees also baked biscuits which were served during tea break on the first day of the workshop.
The VTU participated in a Craft Mela organized by L&T on 15th-16th April, showcasing the diverse abilities of the trainees. All the products
were highly appreciated and sold. Two trainees and two teachers participated in the Mela. One of our trainees has really impressed the authorities
at ARUNIM (a marketing forum of The National Trust that supports all products made by special needs persons), and after giving specific training
in VTU, they have offered him a job of marketing personnel for ARUNIM.
All the teachers prepared individual reports for the trainees.
The meeting with the parents was held on 18th, 19th and 20th of April. A 'Detailed Report' including progress on academics, work skills, social
and communication skills, psychological development, play and movement therapies, was handed over to the respective parents. Plans for the
forthcoming term were also discussed.
On 19th and 20th of April, the trainees and the teachers packed all the materials in different boxes and made the VTU premises ready for painting
during the holidays.
The final term was formally closed by a potluck lunch which was attended by Sundari Aunty, Dr. Vasudha, Prakash, the teachers, volunteers and
staff members of VTU.
Counseling and Assessment Unit
April month was a busy month. As the school was closing, it was time to prepare annual reports for individual and group play therapy sessions.
Report writing proved to be an enlightening process as we realized the growth which reflected in children. For BLA children, form drawing and
painting helped work through their perceptual and emotional issues. This reflected in their increased self esteem.
The other half of April was the summer camp. Two of our counselors helped VRC conduct the summer camp for special children. The camp included
activities like painting, paper mache, flour painting, storytelling, stitching, cooking and drama. All the children really enjoyed themselves
thoroughly with learning happening without realizing!
In the summer months, two of our consultants were available for consultations and counseling. Our corporate counseling continued. As usual, May
was a month of increased consultations for school admissions and remedial intervention.
During play therapy, we noticed significant changes in the play pattern of all the children of KLC. The play progressed from sensory and repetitive
to imaginative and make-belief. This is very heartening as it implies decreased sensory urge and increased creative thinking, both being
positive indicators!
Contact Information
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
V-Excel Center for Research and Rehabilitation
(In assocation with S.V. Sarada Foundation)
50 Sreyes, M.G. Road
Shastri Nagar, Chennai 600 041
Tel: 91 - 44 - 24522061
91 - 44 - 24521986 E-mail us
Academic Concepts, Inc.
1403 Merrywood Drive
Edison New Jersey 08817
Tel: (732) 572-3748
Tax ID: 22-3632715 E-mail us
