Providing lifespan services to individuals with special needs...

For the Town Hall 2021, Counselling Department was asked to share some stories where Counselling really helped in the past year. Instead of assuming where it has helped, we thought it would be better to ask the Units and some beneficiaries themselves where they felt Counselling helped last year.

From EI / VRC :

"Counselling departments work is like the sprinkling of cool scented water on the beneficiaries! 2020 began with unexpected changes for EI too. The Pandemic, relocation to Sharadha, change in leadership, new norms, anxious parents were all posing many demands.

For the first time counselling sessions began for EI parents and care givers. Children were also given play therapy by counselling team. This two-pronged effort has helped regular attendance of the children.

One stressed out VRC parents’ message to the counsellor after the session “Listening to Jagjit Singh’s soulful renditions.. Totally relaxed .. after a long time”.

Ms. Shashikala KLC Coordinator sent the following feedback from 2 Teachers - Ms. Meena and Ms. Pon Rajam and a parent – Ms. Sharmila.

*Before Session*

Experience of being alone without help during an attack of COVID on a dear one, handling alone was very stressful. Couldn't share it with anyone after. Felt stressed and kept thinking about it.

*During session*

Opened up and talked freely, was listened to with patience, calmly, not hurried, felt as if had removed and placed a big weight off my heart and mind.

*After Session*

Followed exercises of mindfulness, giving time for myself, living for myself, felt a lot of relief, relaxed.

Felt that there was someone available for me - anytime I reach out.

*Before Session*

Very anxious, stressed, not knowing how to work, how to make things alright, and felt desperate.

*During Session*

Opened up completely as there was total acceptance of me, my experiences, was heard with lots of patience, felt absolutely comfortable, was given guidance and activities to work with.

*After Session*

Great help the session was, took and carried out suggestions, it's working slowly and steadily and I am seeing my child back to being nearly his regular self.️

*Before Session*

There was confusion of what counseling delivered to the person. Was not aware about benefits. Got clarification about it from friends and colleagues. So was very wary of it.

*During Session*

Patience in listening, explaining, giving methods to work, gave me opportunity to open up completely after my whole family went through COVID. Process of working on mindfulness was explained to me the following day of counseling on my request.

*After Session*

An experience like never before was felt by me. I went inward through the exercise that I became very very calm and quiet and felt at peace. I could not talk for the next 15 minutes, I did not want to or could not too. Bliss.

From VTU :

“When teachers needed guidance to handle certain behavioural issues of the trainees, the counsellor, oriented the teacher which helped in building relationship between the teacher and the trainees.

To cite a couple of examples, the sitting tolerance of some trainees improved immensely after we implemented the interventions suggested.

Grabbing of food from other trainees during lunch time was another challenge. After discussion with counsellor kitchen activities were suggested for one and a change in diet for the other. This slowly helped solve the issue”.

Teachers & Staff:

Counselling is very useful for teachers. We feel relieved after the counselling session. Our mind and thoughts are clear. Some issues which we cannot discuss with family, friends, and colleagues can be done with the counsellor. We can get answer and suggestions and take lots of positive thoughts suggested by counselling department.

Feedback from Inkleweave clients :

Female – 40 years, married for 2 decades, no children; marital issues:

“Counselling has made a significant improvement to the way i interact with the world, and more importantly, myself. I am in the process of unlearning many of the routine patterns of thought that once served me but are no longer contributing to my wellbeing. Interestingly, learning to place myself at the centre of my universe feels valid and long overdue in my journey to become more authentic to my own unique self. I have remarkably less episodes where I feel helpless or bound by the restrictions that society, community or I place on myself. In the areas that I'm unable to change, I'm learning to bide my time, let go or accept the situation for what it is. That, much of this has happened during the covid19 pandemic amidst lockdowns is testament to the effectiveness of your counselling”.

Male / 21 years / Issues - Body Image, Low self Esteem

“This was my first ever experience with a counsellor; so naturally i was shy and reserved. I had one session with the Counselor when i was at a low in my life, not knowing what to expect. She was very warm, welcoming and understood the core of my problem immediately. Over the next few sessions, She helped me crawl out of my shell and see the world from another perspective. Im a rational person and im still amazed how she appealed to my rational side quickly. Im quite lucky to have her as my counselor. I truly wish her all the very best in life”.

Message a KAUSTUBH parent sent to the Counsellor directly after their session:

“I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being so generous with your time when we met at V Excel day before. It was a very positive meeting despite the many sensitive issues we discussed. God bless you for your tremendous compassion and patience towards these beautiful souls”.

Working with Special needs children, adults and their families is a TEAM WORK; Counselling is one element in that. We are humbled and encouraged by the feedback !!

THANK YOU V-EXCEL TEAM!!!

Greetings from our team!

April began with a promising note but we had to stop our physical classroom in the mid of the month due to the pandemic. Yet online support and classes continue.

Earth Day celebrations:

Early Intervention and VRC conducted a small program for the children. The children sowed some seeds to make the Earth green. A poster was made to represent Earth Day.

BLA and VRC team conducted a virtual program on World Earth Day. The children drew and coloured pictures to show their support in protecting the world. A speech was given by one of the teacher’s on “Earth Day”. A quiz program was conducted to help the children to understand Earthy facts.

The Town Hall meeting was conducted virtually on April 19 th . The talks were very inspirational and informative. It was a day well spent with lot of positive sharing. This also gave an opportunity to meet all the V-Excel family members .

Exam time:

The students of BLA wrote the annual Exams. This was a kind of preparing them to the usual exam model. The papers were corrected and distributed to them. What a happy day for the teachers and the students!!

How to manage ourselves during this pandemic? A few tips

1. Stay strong mentally and physically. We can make things better.
2. Stay calm. It helps to take the best decisions.
3. Stay in touch with all those whom you know and talk to them about promising and pleasant things.
4. At home remain calm and composed, be helpful and work in a circle. Always support each other.
5. Eat healthy; take all the precautions to keep yourself and those around you safe.
6. Give yourself some time to sit silently in prayer. Connect to your inner self.
7. If you have to go out take all the precautions. It is better to prevent than cure.
8. The most important mantra is - “be bold”. Be bold to take care of yourself. Be bold to stay safe, be bold to stay healthy.
9. Keep all the phone numbers and make a list of people who can help if you have any problems.
10. Remember you can decide what you want for yourself.

Take care. Let’s support each other and come out of this pandemic safely.

The story behind the craft bazaar

The academic year 2020-21 has come to an end and the unusual year of the pandemic brought new opportunities for our students and teachers. Most of the year spent at home with only online guidance and the last three months of limited attendance has resulted in some consciously crafted collaborations! Conscious because we have learnt to upcycle, reuse, and reduce waste. And collaborations because the staff, students, parents, and some members of our visiting community at Sharada helped to put together, design, work at our products.

It all started when we decided to participate in the India International Quilting Festival 2021, after our good friend Varshaa Moahan encouraged us to participate. We were delighted that almost every child in the senior school could manipulate the needle and thread and could make running stitches, the stitch needed for all quilting projects.

It was then when we started thinking of different projects where the children could use these stitches and start from here. What emerged was an entire range of home decor products like table linen, dohars, curtains, and many simple creative products for children.

Collaborations between teachers and students who worked with textiles old and new - Machine stitching, simple running stitches, blanket stitches, quilting were explored. Simple crafts made from wood, coconut shells, jute, paper, were transformed into useful and aesthetic articles to be used at home and offices and for gifting. We also worked on our regular vocations like candles, bags, and jewellery.

We were all set to have our summer bazaar live in the foyer of the Sharada building on the 17th of April. Man proposes and COVID disposes was the story of our life this month. Things again flared up in the city and some teachers and families got affected and the idea of having a crowd in our premises was done away with. Instead, we had to have a backup plan and within a matter of a week it was decided to have an online presence, build a website where we could showcase our creations and probably take orders from now on to make these products during vocations. There was a sudden spurt in activity and on 19 April 2021, as a part of the Town Hall meeting our website was officially inaugurated. Please do visit it. It is a labour of love and all units of V- Excel have put their products on display.

https://crafs2021.wixsite.com/bazaar

The craft bazaar has paved its way for the vocations for next year to emerge. Woodwork with gardening products and making eco-friendly containers with coconut shells, jewellery, candles, a lot of fabric related products where children hand stitch and machine stitch and use their needles skilfully.

When the simple skills of life of using hands meaningfully are done with love and beauty, the simple skill is transformed into a capacity of a higher nature. The children find that their hands can create and creating is the highest human expression of their spirit.

A few of our students excelled at the new skill of stitching. Akshay Sunder and Rekha learnt to stitch straight on the machine while children like Prasaad and Akshay learnt to do complicated stitches like the herring bone and chain stitches. Hanish, Preethi, Sai and many others learnt to stitch the running stitch with just verbal prompts. We tried to use whatever the children could possibly do as their contribution. So beautiful, colourful clips and rubber bands with crochet flowers were tied on to rubber bands with eager hands. Some children who could only stick, embellished some articles made for children by glueing small pieces of felt and braiding.

It is with great excitement that the craft bazaar was received. Friends and families placed their orders and most of our limited-edition items were sold out within the week. We seek your continued patronage.

We closed school on 20th April after a formal closure where children spent time in their classrooms and were prepared for the summer vacations with its limitations. Parents were assured of continued guidance and support from teachers. A few students who were not attending school for safety reasons, visited their teachers at home and were held differently.

We closed school on a sombre note praying for good health all around and hoping for everyone to remain safe.