Providing lifespan services to individuals with special needs...

Early Intervention Unit conducted the first screening camp with Hexaware Support at Ambattur Municipality Primary school, Kallikuppam, for the children in the age group of 2½ years to 6 years. It was done on 2 days (12.2.2020 and 14.2.2020) to cover 67 children. The team consisted of professionals working in the Early Intervention team of V-Excel. An assessment tool was devised by Mrs. Lalitha Sridhar, to be used in the screening camp. Training was given to the professionals on the below mentioned areas.

• Identification of school
• General training on conducting a screening camp
• Preparation of assessment kit
• Usage of assessment tool
• Modalities to train the school teachers

Scoring, analysis and inference of each child is done by senior professionals, to be submitted to the school authorities. Based on the scoring, children are referred for review programme/intervention. As a part of the screening programme the teachers in the school are oriented to identify children with delay in development and take necessary follow-up actions. Children were incentivized with snacks and gifts.

The last leaf of Lorien was the theme for the month of February. The whole school and perhaps the entire organisation was living, breathing, dressing, praying for, preparing, for the big day which was scheduled for 6^th of March 2020. The entire section of Strides this month will probably carry stories of the success of the event. This year it looks like the feedback and the euphoria of the production has surpassed all earlier years and we could perhaps bring out an entire edition of the collection of comments that have been compiled from the guests, parents and well wishers.

So, I have decided to dedicate this edition of Strides to some stories of behind the scenes. What do I think contributed to the success of this event? Who were the real heroes behind the show and in front of the show!

The first names that come to me are the writers, the ones who conceived the idea and the directors. Our students Akshay Nathan, Hari Prasad and Arvind Karthik along with Neha and Puja decided to write an original fairy tale which also speaks of the struggles of an individual, an organisation, and what is the winning ingredient ultimately in life. The script was brilliantly woven into a fairy tale with the old king, his sad kingdom, his three sons with their own special talents, their challenges, failures and success. It was dressed with beautiful images of the magical enchanted woods, the wise old lady, and fair maidens, the temptations, deceitful mirages, and finally the waking up of the third good prince to his own goodness and winning the hand of the fair maiden. This is when he realises that he is the last leaf of Lorien.

So what stays with all of us after the show?

The music: Each piece of music was carefully chosen according to the characters, the scenes and the seasons. The selection ranged from a Waltz by Shostakovich and an original composition composed by Neha and Puja where many teachers and people from the community lent their voices to. Puja ‘s choice of music and the compositions for Lucius and Arnold were immensely hummable and fitting.

The music:

The Props: Vatsala our teacher of grade 3 was crowned the queen of props! The intricate head gear that was designed for the trees in all seasons, the beautiful life sized map, the crowns for all the royalty were made with such perfection that one wondered that for a one minute scene would anyone spend that kind of energy and concentration. My answer was provided by the excellence with which the hands made these props, did not rest till it got the right effect. And finally when the snow queens crown was made with glitter and gel and constructed like blown glass, we were truly blown away. While this crown was not used finally because it was not visible on stage the effort was truly appreciated and more so the quality of work. The final crown was made by Shashikala, the throne was made by Tabitha, the apple tree by Raghu, Babita, and Sharmila.

The weather vane with the directions with the beautiful bird on top was made by Meena.

The backdrops: I wonder if anyone in the audience noticed the marvellous props which were collectively constructed, painted and put together under Parimal’s eagle eye with the total dedication of the counselling and VRC teams. The dark burning cave was a sight to behold and I am sure we will be using it for many other annual days. The props are the 'eternity' props. The ice castle made on 14 mts of cloth was another picture to behold in ones mind eyes.

The costumes: Latha and Vasanthi have been the costume arrangers for the last ten years together. They make lists, measure children, source the vendors, decide the colours, and then follow up on a daily basis and track the whole cast with their basic costumes diligently. Who should join them this time but our grade 4 teacher Nithya. Nithya had learnt well from her autism students on how to be one minded and not appreciate radiant thinking and suggestions once the decision was taken. Indeed a useful trait to have in a coordinator. Nithya spent hours sketching each costume and then went about making these embellishments. The labour of love was well appreciated by the audience who commented on how each prince looked different, handsome and fitting their description. And we in KLC have found our new note taker and fashion designer.

The dragon maker: The climax of the production involved that the dragon appears in the land of Lorien and this dragon had to be made with the big picture in mind. Aditi painstakingly made the wings, back and tail of the dragon using satin fabric and bamboo sticks. It was the grand finale and the wings and tail really took centre stage. The colours were bright and Aditi touched up, cut and sewed and finally created an adorable dragon! No one had imagined what the dragon would really be like but Aditis form came alive for this climax. Similar mention of Vijaya Rani a parent of V-Excel under whose expertise Nivesh runs, made Kiki‘s beautiful wings. It was a painstaking affair to sew the whole thing together and the result was outstanding.

The dance of the leaders: Our young directors insisted that all the heads must participate and be part of the cast. After some deliberation it was decided that the flash back scene where the fair maiden was overtaken by the dark forces was performed by the entire lot of unit heads. Thank you dear Vasudha, Ajita, Usha, Charu, Lekshmi, Lakshmi, Gayatri, Parimal for your short but powerful presence and lending to the story in such a beautiful manner. The audience applauded the total immersion of the staff and students.

The journey of the staff and students along the creation and staging of the Last leaf of Lorien has been long and intense. These are a few snippets and to talk about the students please look out for the next strides edition.

A fruitful February it has been. The month began with vocational training for the students, practice for the school annual day play and the regular activities. The NIOS Secondary and Senior Secondary started to prepare with vigour and hopes for their final exams in April.

Vocational Training:

How our children of BLA Primary group learnt to make tea:

This month marked the beginning for learning a new skill for the students - "to prepare tea". The children were taught how to use the stove and also prepare tea. This activity did not take place on one fine day suddenly, a lot of preparatory work and practice went into it before the children made a cup of tea. First the teachers prepared some worksheets and charts to explain the activity. A do's and don'ts chart was prepared. Each student was asked to narrate the steps to make tea. All the ingredients were introduced. They learnt its texture and smell. They learnt to handle the ingredients and the vessels. A few days of demonstrations by the teachers. Then the D Day came. The students were now ready to handle the show. The team prepared tea and how happy they felt to serveit to their teachers and friends. Success tasted flavoursome!

Let's meet our star team members: Bridges Learning Academy (BLA) a unit of V-Excel Educational Trust:

Mrs. Elaveni Nagaraj, teacher for the Primary Group of BLA.

Patience, planning and perseverance are the qualities that this teacher has learnt to keep her students busy and happy in the class. Six students with unique qualities and requirements all working together and moving ahead in a seamless way definitely needs a passionate teacher. Elaveni has been with VRC for the past three years. A special Educator since eight years she has been handling children with diversified issues in academics. The one mantra she says is "Be Prepared". She follows it and so the results keep coming. She understands the needs of each child and plans well in time to cater to their requirements. The worksheets, teaching aids and the strategies are planned meticulously. The latest strategy for Math is giving each child a calculator to do Math operations. The children are now confident and feel proud and empowered. So her journey continues..... "A teacher always inspiring and giving a prod on the back to make her students fly."

Mrs. Shankari Teacher BLA NIOS (Secondary and Senior Secondary)

"You give me the student I can bring out his best" Such is the confidence of Mrs Shankari, who has been teaching children of Secondary and senior secondary NIOS since six years. She can handle the students with ease and drives home the fact that she is a go getter. Her sincere efforts in coaching the students has resulted in many students pass out with flying colours and pursue college studies or continue with vocational training. She is a mother, mentor, advisor, peer, teacher, disciplinarian, guide all rolled into one. Every child gets individual attention and helped to finish all the tasks related to the exams well on time. For her the words for success are "work hard, work consistently, results will follow". Yes, we can see the results following. We as a team cherish her presence as she ensures the smooth sail of the students in the exams and instils values for daily living in her students.

The students of Anandanam are always busy with celebrations apart from their busy remedial sessions. This time it was celebrating World Mother Tongue Day (உலக தாய் மொழி தினம் ). The children were taught about the importance of mother tongue and why one has to respect it. All the students and the teachers signed their names in their mother tongue to show respect and love for it.

On 14.02.2020 (Friday), the students of Abhyasa Kendra participated in District level cultural meet for special children and their parents and the program was conducted by Srimad Andavan Arts & Science College at Thiruvanai Koil. Students participated in Fancy dress competition and other games. Events was organized for parents of children with special needs. Parents participated in cooking and other activities organised for them. It was a day of fan for children and parents.

Ms. Deepa co-ordinator of Erode centre was invited to give a presentation on "Skill for counselling parents and childrens with special needs" in a CRE programme held at Vidya Vikashini institution Coimbatore. Around 35 Special Educators from all over Tamiulnadu participated in the same. Students of Vidya Vikashini institutions also participated in the programme. The talk was given from the perspective of journey of a parent with a special needs child. The various components of the presentation were

• Importance of counselling for a parent with a child with special needs
• Different areas of counselling
• Strategies

It was well received and appreciated by all present there.

• Teach in small steps
• Prepare the child for the next activity and give time for transition
• Give clear directions, speak slowly and clearly using few words
• Create an atmosphere of comfort and reassurance
• Have a routine for children to follow
• Use multisensory approach to learning
• Include activities to facilitate peer interaction
• Circle time, to be a part of daily schedule – helps develop wide range of skills and attitudes like confidence, self esteem, talking, listening, friendship building, strengthen relationship with teacher
• Provide developmentally appropriate activities
• Give movement break between classes
• Be sure you have the child’s attention before giving instructions
• Seat the child close to you or seat the child in front between two children. Give occasional physical and verbal reassurances and encouragement
• Help child to make choice, by limiting the number of choices available
• Peer tutoring
• Help the child to participate in all class room activities
• Use both visual and auditory strategies to teach the child
• Include lot of five motor activities in class
• Involve physical movements every day