Providing lifespan services to individuals with special needs...
Strides Newsletter Archives
Academy of Teaching Excellence
Practical Matters
Last month, we talked about how at the culmination of the IGNOU course – Certificate in Early Childhood Special Education – Mental Retardation (CESE – MR), students felt the course impacted their knowledge and understanding of children, special or otherwise, to a great extent. This month, we saw just how deep the impact has been. As a conclusion to the course, students had to attend their practical external exams, the External Examiner for which was Dr. Sanjay Mohan. Students had exhibited their teaching materials for this purpose and the entire foyer of V-Excel looked like a fair, with toys and teaching aids! “It wasn’t just about exhibiting the teaching aids, though, as each student was asked the specific use of such teaching materials. Each and every student answered so well that even I was left happily surprised,” said Maria Josephine, Coordinator, ATE. “It showed that the course had truly impacted each of them and their learning was complete. This knowledge was echoed in their Practical Project as well, and everyone excelled in their exam,” added Maria with a smile of obvious pride. A fitting end to the course, indeed!
Other News from ATE
CRE Programme
The Continuous Rehabilitation Education (CRE) programme in ‘Inclusion and Autism Spectrum Disorder’ is to be held between February 10 and 12, and so, January was all about hectic preparations for the same. The Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) usually allows only a maximum of 30 participants for the programme, but this year, since the number has already exceeded 30 registrations, the RCI has increased the cap to 40 participants. The programme will feature several eminent speakers, including Dr. Vijayalakshmi of NIEPMD (National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities), Kejal Bakshi from V-Excel Remedial Centre, Mallika Ganapathy of Mirra, a centre that believes in creating an all-inclusive space for children to go beyond disabilities, and Dr. Vasudha Prakash, Founder & Director of V-Excel Educational Trust. Apart from them, we have professionals who are actively involved in inclusion from Ebbas and Lady Andal School in Chennai, as well as parents of children with ASD.
Regulars
The contact classes for the Awareness Training Programme have been on-going. All of them have been unanimous in their appreciation of the programme. It allows them to relate to special children better as some of them are parents, while others are working in inclusive schools as assistants.
Counseling & Assessments
Brush Strokes
One of the hardest paths in the world of special education is the one undertaken by the parents of the special child, and in most cases, as the mother is the primary caregiver, she faces harder challenges. The Counselling and Assessments Unit, therefore, has introduced a series of Art Therapy sessions for mothers of the PreVoc Junior Class at V-Excel’s Kaleidoscope Learning Centre. The activities include plant and nature observation, painting and drawing and the response has been overwhelming. “The aim is to provide a space for them to connect with themselves and take time to understand their inner selves,” explains Parimal Pandit, Head of the Counselling and Assessments Unit, who conducted the session with her colleague, Puja Bhalla. The session had a total of seven participants and lasted for an hour. The next session is scheduled in February.
Other News from C&A
Play On
The play therapy and art therapy sessions with children, in groups or as individuals, have showed remarkable success. Children who attend the art therapy sessions individually have shown dramatic improvement over the last few sessions. As for play therapy, children have progressed from restrictive play to more exploratory and imaginative play. Play therapy for two children from V-Excel’s Remedial Centre was also initiated.
Regulars
Our work with Pudiyador, an NGO that works with children from disadvantaged communities, continued on Saturdays. The assessment process for two groups is over and play therapy has begun for four children. Corporate counselling continued this month with many follow-ups at V-Excel and referrals for continued work. The work with VTU trainees continues, focusing on making them more aware of their emotions and actions and making them more competent in dealing with issues.
Early Intervention
Happenings at EI
This month, one of the main activities at the Early Intervention Unit was the formulation of the Individual Development Programme for all children for the new term. The entire team of therapists, special educators and psychologists were involved in the process, as the IDP plays a major role in helping monitor and track the progress of the child. Home training for parents is on-going, addressing issues of daily living such as feeding and toilet training apart from handling specific behavioural issues and speech training.
A workshop was conducted on the importance of physical play and movements and the facilitation of speech through play. The group sessions on Saturdays that began last month has consolidated well. While the goal for one group is social communication and play, the goal for the other group is rhythm and co-ordination. Two of EI’s children who had joined regular schools visited the centre for review. They have settled well and have, therefore, been discharged from the programme.
Kaleidoscope Learning Center
The Dish that Rocked!
Have you ever tasted a 'pancake’ or 'roti' made with beetroot or cabbage or spinach? Well, our young Greek students have been cooking up quite a storm in the kitchen with these new vegan delights during the week of January 27-31. It’s been a win-win situation. Parents are thrilled that children are eating vegetables so happily and the doctors are relieved that the ingredients contain no flour or sugar. And, most importantly, it was delicious and the people at the centre were ready to buy the delicacy for a good price! If you would like the recipe as a treat this month, write to us at info@v-excel.org.
Other News from KLC
Harvest Time!
Pongal, the harvest festival of Tamil Nadu, was celebrated on January 13 where the traditional pot of Pongal was cooked in the open on firewood amidst song, dance, storytelling, and street rangoli. The children looked bright and cheerful and spread the joy with their smiles and bonhomie.
I, Graduate
On January 22, Grade 5 stepped into Grade 6 after a significant ceremonial graduation. Parents and the entire school attended the ceremony and Dr. Vasudha Prakash, Director & Founder of V-Excel Educational Trust, addressed the gathering. The children were given handmade gifts from other classes and each of the graduating students was 'knighted '! Teachers read out the review of the year and the children read out their affirmations for the coming year.
Model Classroom
Grades 4A and 4B were the chosen classes to inaugurate the new furniture in V-Excel’s brand new school building – Sharada – on January 27. Thanks to the generous contribution of the United Way of Chennai, the elegant furniture that has been donated will go a long way in making the environment orderly and structured. On the day of the inauguration, the model class was showcased to the donors, after which there was a group discussion where the curriculum and the needs of the school were further explained.
V-Excel Educational Trust
Sibling Forum Meet
When V-Excel's sibling forum came into existence in February 2012, it had one specific goal – to foster communication and rapport between siblings of people with special needs. The recent meet that was conducted was perhaps proof of that goal being realised.
The meet was attended by eight participants – Deepika (22), Riya (11), Shanmuga Priya (12), Sanchana (10), Lakshika (13), Mahalaxmi (11), Rohith (7), and Steward (9) – and the session began with an ice-breaker activity, after which, participants proceeded to the main art therapy session with psychologists Sarmista and Niharika from the Counselling and Assessments Unit. It was after this activity, when everyone sat down to share how they felt, that we realised just how deeply their emotions were for their special siblings. "I think this meet in particular was a great success as even 10-year-old and 12-year-old children had a lot to share and were comfortable doing it," said Anandhi Vinodh, psychologist and the one who organised and conducted this meet. "The trigger was when I asked them to share the one thing that upset them about their siblings and the one thing that surprised them. One of them said that she was upset when she came to know her sibling couldn’t speak, while another said that her special brother listens to her better than her mom! They spoke for almost an hour and said how much they enjoy their siblings’ company and the games they play. They all agreed that they wanted to understand their siblings better but did not know how to go about it, so we concluded the meet with a small resolution to learn the ways in which the special ones communicate and not wait for them to change like us. It was an extremely positive and enriching session," said Anandhi.
The next meet will be held end of March or the beginning of April. Please write to info@v-excel.org to know more. To read more about this session, visit the Sibling Forum page on our website here
Kaustubh - V-Excel's Youth Empowerment Centre
As the nation celebrated the 64th year of the Constitution of India coming into force, we, at V-Excel, had an equally momentous occasion to celebrate. It was the inauguration of Kaustubh, our brand new Youth Empowerment Centre! And the inauguration was just as power-packed as the Republic Day Parade with inspiring words from our Chief Guest and Guests of Honour, a fantastic video on the life-long merits of vocational training, and a fun and magical performance by our children.
Our Chief Guest for the occasion was Hon'ble Mr. Justice S. Ranganathan, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India, while the Guests of Honour were Mr. Harish Mehta, Chairman, Indian Red Cross Society, Ms. Malvika Iyer, Bomb Blast Survivor, Ph.D. in Disability & Inclusion, Motivational Speaker and Social Worker, and Sri S. Ramakrishnan of Amar Seva Sangam.
Thanks to Dr. Sudhir Krishnamurthi, Senior Managing Director at The Rock Creek Group, LP in the United States, and his wife Nalini, who had the vision for Kaustubh, and our trusted Trustee, Mr. Kandaswamy Bharathan, who, as a result of a casual conversation with his college-mate, Dr. Sudhir, ended up being the catalyst of change in this collaborative effort between the Krishnamurthis and V-Excel.
Located in the heart of Mylapore, Kaustubh will offer vocational and life-skills training programmes for young adults with special needs. It allows V-Excel to expand its existing vocational training services located in Shastri Nagar, where many of the trainees earn stipends and are making significant strides towards independent living. The units in Shastri Nagar and Mylapore will work in tandem with the former focusing on production work and the latter on training. For more information, write to info@v-excel.org.
Occupational Therapy
Awareness Programme
Along with the Counselling and Assessments Unit, the Occupational Therapy Unit conducted an awareness programme on January 10 between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. for mothers whose daughters had reached puberty or were about to do so. While in the first hour participants were guided and motivated by the C&A unit, the second hour was about giving mothers and their daughters a practical demo and suitable explanations. The session also included the appropriate dress code for girls during their menstrual cycle. “I could see a lot of anxious expressions in the faces of mothers who had a lot of questions and doubts,” said Suba Naresh, Coordinator, OT. “But at the end of the session, they felt a lot more confident about handling their daughters during their menstrual cycle.”
V-Excel Remedial Center
Road to Progress
It was providential indeed when Pudiyador, a city-based NGO that works with disadvantaged children, found us through our website last month. Their coordinator approached us to help them assess and provide therapy for their after-school programmes with children. VRC has completed two sets of assessments till now, with seven children in each set. They were screened for learning problems, attention issues, and perceptual visual problems, with four children from the first batch and five children from the second batch chosen for remedial programmes. "After discussion and review with the Pudiyador representative, we have sent three of them to our Shastri Nagar centre for remedials, four of them are here with us and two of them only need counselling," said Jayanthi Srinivasan, Coordinator, VRC. Pudiyador, on the other hand, is working with V-Excel on gardening for trainees at the Shastri Nagar Vocational Training Unit and koothu (traditional Tamil theatre) for children at KLC.
Other News from VRC
Regulars
Three assessments were completed in January, with remedial classes to begin for one of the children assessed.
Play therapy and parent counselling for another child has begun, as she has a lot of emotional issues that need to be sorted out before she is receptive to learning.
Satellite Centers
It was one of those days when India was on everyone’s mind, when the feeling of patriotism was in everyone’s heart and earnestness in every pair of eyes. As all the teachers and children walked in wearing white, each one present was reminded of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, India’s first Vice President’s words on the symbolism of white on our national flag: “The white in the centre is light, the path of truth to guide our conduct”. After the flag was hoisted and everyone sang the National Anthem, the children danced to patriotic music. All parents present were surprised and amazed to see their children perform the various movements with help from their teachers. The cultural programme culminated with a group dance by the teachers.
Other News from V-SAT
At the Nashik centre, on January 9, two special educators and two counsellors of the Special Education Department of Silver Oak Universal School visited the centre. The purpose of the visit was to familiarise themselves with the centre’s activities so they could refer some of the special children studying in their school for therapies and remedial activities at our centre. On January 17, children and teachers from the centre went on a school picnic to Indira Nagar City Park. The children enjoyed playing in the park, were served some snacks and then escorted back to school in the afternoon.
At the Erode centre, an awareness programme among the medical professionals and school teachers was initiated. The Erode centre is also in the process of setting up the therapy department in the new vocational training centre.
At the Tirunelveli centre, the vocational training programme for young adults with special needs is progressing well and should be operational soon.
At the Solapur centre, the hunt for a larger, more suitable space for a special school continues with new children joining the centre. If you would like to fund this project or help in any other way, write to info@v-excel.org.
Vocational Training / Youth Empowerment Services
Seeds of Change
Growth is such a many-layered word that this month we got to see its many facets. For one, in the literal sense, our trainees watched the growth of saplings they planted. They learnt to make a bed with organic material and sand, prepared it further by watering it for a week, and then learnt to sow seeds and saplings. The rest of the month, as they watered it every day and watched it grow, we saw their knowledge of the earth grow, and the smiles on their faces grow! As part of this gardening project, trainees were also taken to the beach to collect biodegradable waste. They ended up collecting a lot of corn cobs strewn around Besant Nagar beach, which was later used in the compost pit at the VTU centre.
Other News from VTU
Pongal O Pongal
Traditional Pongal celebrations, the harvest festival of Tamil Nadu, were held in the open ground for trainees. Each of them was asked to bring a different ingredient from home for the making of the traditional sweet pongal and then one by one they added it to the pot. After this, they performed the folk dance of ‘kummi’ around the pot.
Order of the Day!
The order for eco-friendly bags from Yogavarshini was completed on time and delivered this month. The highlight of this particular order was the fact that 95% of the work was done by the trainees, with only 5% contribution from the staff for cutting the material, screen printing and over-locking the edges.
Sale Tale
VTU’s trainees participated in the two-day ‘Arunim’ sale organised at Larsen and Tubro campus in Chennai. The products of VTU were highly appreciated and received a very good response!