Kaleidoscope Learning Centre is a special school dedicated to serving the needs of the growing number of children with developmental disabilities. The school strives to develop in each student, a self-esteem and respect for others and an appreciation for his/her own unique gifts and talents. The school aims at bringing up independent, self-reliant individuals, meeting life on their own terms, rather than passively looking at others for guidance.

The school follows a curriculum which is based on the curriculum developed by Rudolf Steiner and is followed the world over in Waldorf schools. The Waldorf curriculum brings together all elements of a child's development: the intellectual, the artistic and the spiritual. The stages of development in a child's life closely dictate his/her most important needs and therefore the curriculum formed is based on these needs. These stages of development are not different for special children, but understanding the disturbances in these developmental stages gives the starting point for understanding the conditions presented by our children. Health and education form the basis of intervention, and the two are closely interwoven in addressing the needs of the growing child. Hence this education is also called "Curative Education", education that can be healing. Of great importance is also, the understanding of the human being as a whole, and the school cultivates a deep bond between the teacher and the child to facilitate learning. This contributes to a warm, non-judgmental home-like environment which helps children to develop skills appropriate to their developmental stage.

What makes the program unique, is that instead of focussing on the content alone, the curative education programme focusses on bringing creativity and common sense to everything that is taught. By doing this, children are better able to relate to what they are learning and form associations with things that they already know. This becomes even more important for children with special needs that they are taught in three distinct phases of encountering (forming a perception), experiencing (developing a feeling) and then forming a concept (the idea). A multisensorial approach using art, music, movement, and play helps children with Autism, ADHD, ADD, Down’s syndrome and others with learning difficulties become more expressive.

Janaki Ashok
Janaki is the dynamic, pleasant and approachable coordinator of KLC. She has over seven years of experience in this school and has been a teacher of the elementary grades. She took on the position of the Administrative Coordinator in 2009 and, at the moment, balances her responsibilities as a grade 3 class teacher as well as supervising, coordinating, planning and executing events, programs, the daily-running of the school. Janaki is a practical mother and an encouraging teacher which makes her class an independent and self-reliant one

Neha Bharadwaj
Neha introduced the school to the Montessori approach which worked magic with the children with autism. They learnt to systematize their learning and the step-by-step methodology helped in giving the children a sense of rhythm and schedule which is so important in a child with autism. The other gifts that Neha brings with her are music, drama, writing, and a special understanding of the non-verbal child. This makes her a favorite amongst the children and frequently they ask for individual music time with her. Neha has over seven years of teaching experience of which six have been in KLC. She is currently the class teacher for grade 3B and also plans curricula and supervises the activities of grades 1, 2, and 3. A multi-talented person, Neha composes songs and makes movies and music videos for the school.

Latha Kannan
Latha volunteered her services as a computer professional but almost from the start her sincerity, interest, and loyalty integrated her as a staff member, and for the last six years, she has been working across all departments training children to use the computer. Latha also the computer effectively to bring lessons and knowledge to the children in the middle school. Latha has been lured into the land of autism for the past four years and she has been a co-teacher in grades 3 and 4 with a special class full of adolescent autistic children. Latha is simple, patient and observant which makes her an ideal educator. Latha is also a keem seamstress and teaches stitching and embroidery.

Sowmya Sarathy
Sowmya is the quintessential kindergarten teacher having been trained over the last three years by Miriam Haenen, a renowned Waldorf kindergarten educator. Sowmya combines the intangible spiritual world from where her children hail and the tangible world of the senses in a magical portion that she calls her kindergarten. Gentle and attentive, Sowmya has created for the children in her class a space where the child feels safe, eager to explore, play with natural toys like twigs and logs of woods, pine cones, pods and stones. Graceful in her movements, she models the finger rhymes and other movement-inspiring imitation from her class and tells stories in a warm and creative manner that makes the children come together around her. Sowmya made the transition from the corporate world into the world of children and is enjoying her destiny unfurl.

Kavitha S.
Kavitha has done her Masters in Rehabilitation Services and hails from Trichy. Unassuming and gentle, Kavitha spent the first two years in KLC consolidating her skills and breaking the cocoon that surrounded her. Rarely does one see a butterfly of such color and design which emerged; and now, for the past two years Kavitha has been a grade 1 and grade 2 teacher. Kavitha is diligent, organized, and brings to the children in her care a mixture of creative fun and disciplined learning. She has honed her skills as a fairy-tale teller that brings other academic components in an interesting manner to her children. She has the knack of breaking through the resistance that children with special needs display and understands through observation alone what each of her second graders require.