"Dare to be true. Nothing can need a lie: A fault, which needs it most, grows two thereby." George Herbert
V-Excel News
Dr. Vasudha Prakash, our Founder-Director, participated in a seminar held in Bhubaneshwar by the Rehabilitation Council of India as
one of the Special Education experts. The aim of this seminar was to bring together various national level professionals and discuss diverse
issues like human resource development, inclusive education and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), need for training program in recreation, sports and
leisure activities for persons with disabilities and many more. We wish to see some positive steps in these areas.
All teachers attended a two day workshop by Aban and Dilnawaz Bana on eurythmy. Eurythmy, an integral aspect of Waldorf education, is a type of
discreet body movement representing various phonetic sounds and acknowledges a person's capacity to communicate through non-verbal gestures. In our
school, eurythmy is practiced as movement therapy and our teachers were really happy to get inputs from the experts in the field. Each one found
new learning and ideas that they can incorporate in their teaching.
On March 23, as a part of our awareness activities, Dr. Vasudha delivered a speech in the local language (Tamil) on All India Radio. The focus on
early identification and education for children with special needs would effectively help many people in urban and rural areas given the
mass reach of radio.
Kaleisdoscope Learning Centre
Holi was celebrated on 8th March with only vegetable dyes and environmentally safe colours! The school manufactured colours with beetroot and
turmeric were a great hit with both, the children and the teachers. Children also enjoyed the coloured water celebrations on the Water Day that
followed this event.
A ‘Mother’s Day Out’ was organized to give V-Excel mothers a stress-free day of food, fun and letting their hair down. Many parents appreciated this
initiative and we sincerely hope to see more parents enjoy such programs.
In a never-before event organized by the mothers of kindergarten and grade 1, the teachers were given an appreciation tea for their sincere efforts
in training the children for the Annual Day musical ‘Horton hears a Who’!
The concluding series of talks given by John Miller on ‘thinking, moving and speaking’ was concluded on Tuesday 16th March. All his in-service training
sessions were highly appreciated by the staff.
A farewell whole school lunch was held. Some children who are moving away were made to sit in the center while the others sat around. It was a treat
to see all the children enjoy this community feeling!
Academy for Teacher Excellence
During the first two weeks of this month, the trainees finished their third case study and all the file work required for the final practicals,
due in the third week of this month. Mrs. Beena, the external examiner, evaluated the sessions which were earnestly done by the trainees.
The students had a lecture on parent counseling by Mrs. Saras Bhaskar which provided with useful insights on conducting oneself as a special educator with
parents of differently-abled children.
Ms. Puja, a Counselor at our school, delivered a lecture with lively good practical inputs on ‘play’, its importance for young children, how it can
be developed in autistic children, and its significance as a therapy.
The ATE students were delegated care of the students of the Kaleidoscopic Learning Center for the two days when the teachers had to attend workshops.
It was a valuable hands-on experience for all of them.
The trainees are now preparing for their models exams, scheduled for the first week of April, and also for their final exams to be held in the month of May.
Early Intervention Unit
The year-end review is in progress for all the children. The review is done on a host of neuro-sensory development parameters that form the
basis of our goals and individualized intervention program for every child.
A number of children are applying to different schools for their Pre.K.G admission. Around 8-10 children have already got admission to the mainstream
pre-schools. Our support extends to them for a while as these children may require some help to settle in their respective schools.
Group intervention program has been launched this month. Three groups of different ages have been formulated, keeping in view their development stages.
The group sessions are carried out once a month.
Bridges Learning Academy
The month of March went past very quickly as both the students and teachers were engaged in a host of academic pursuits - quizzes, recitation,
oral tests, dictation tests and a series of assignments that needed to be completed.
The Annual Exams have been scheduled for April 5th, 6th and 7th. All our dear students are putting in their best efforts to score good marks in
all the subjects. Six of our students will be leaving BLA this year to join regular schools, and they are being coached to write the entrance exams
in these schools. We are very happy to see them mainstreamed through our program.
V-Excel Remedial Centre
This month being the end of the term the Red Group teachers are busy in preparing the progress reports for the students. Parent review meetings
will be held early next month to discuss the way ahead for their children.
To widen our knowledge in Anthroposophy, teachers from VRC attended two day workshop on eurythmy conducted by Ms. Aban Bana and Ms. Dil Nivas. We found
it extremely unique in its approach and applicability.
We are planning to organize a day of fun for all the students of V-Excel in the month of April and preparations for that are on in full swing.
Rural Outreach Program
Mukti Foundation has organized for an artificial leg for one of the special persons in Villipuram. No words can ever describe the value this holds for him!
A workshop was organized by the Government on the 18th, 19th, 22nd & 23rd of March on Special Education. The objective of this workshop was training
and creating new trained resources for this field that has dearth of teachers.
One of our well-wishers, Mr. Rajesh Chachhoria donated 12 wheelchairs, 3 tricycles, and has promised to help us with six more wheelchairs in the coming
months. We heartily thank him for supporting us and sponsoring these for our rural children.
Vocational Training Unit
The small signs of growth that we see in the three new students, gives us great encouragement.
Bharathwaj, 42 years old, joined our screen printing unit in February. For many years he had not spoken to anyone. Now, he answers simple
questions and does small jobs. His mother is very happy and says he has started talking at home too.
Aswin, aged 24 years and a very capable young man, previously refused to participate in any activity. And now, he even asks for work!
Ishwarya, 14 yrs old, could not sit for more than 10 minutes in any activity; she beat other students and enjoyed bossing around. Now she
participates in work and seems to enjoy being here with everyone.
Some Events -
We arranged a field–trip to Abirami Mega Mall where the children thoroughly enjoyed playing in the snow world.
The NSS of Stella Mari’s College organized a sale of products made by special persons of our Unit. We are glad that we were able to make
a good sale, thanks to the quality products made by our children.
Mr. Lazar of Boomika Trust met the Parents Support Group; this interaction helped us understand the job opportunities available for our students.
After reviewing, we have developed our plan for the forthcoming year-
Work towards placement for three students
Production of 2-3 items on a contract basis
Support Self Help Group (SHG) by parents
Work with Bhoomika Trust to find jobs for students, sale of items and SHG
Counseling and Assessment Unit
The Counseling department, this academic year, has worked very closely with some of the service units of V-Excel such as the special
school, remedial intervention and vocational training and our experience has been very enriching.
Our work has been primarily been in the area of parent education and counseling. As regards the children, our focus areas have been counseling and play therapy.
To ensure that we have an integrated approach while working with the children, we have been involved in and exposed to various in-service programs
conducted this year for teachers and therapists. This has enabled us to enmesh our methods with those of the multi-disciplinary team for offering
a more effective program for special children.
Contact Info :: India:
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
Contact Info :: USA:
Academic Concepts, Inc.
1403 Merrywood Drive
Edison, NJ 08817
Tel: (732) 572-3748
Tax ID: 22-3632715 E-mail us
Volunteer Info:
Volunteers are an integral part of our success. Our most pressing needs are in the areas of occupational and speech therapies, and
as teacher aides. We also require assistance in library management.
If you have any of these and are interested in volunteering at V-Excel, please contact us.
India Autism: Trying Tradition
In India, old ideas are giving new options to treating autism. Liz Neisloss reports on that country's approach.
The Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) demanded repealing of Disability (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act-1995.
Addressing the National Meet of Rehabilitation of Experts-2010, RCI Chairman Ian Cardozo said, “the Disability Act –1995 is very fractured one. We
need a new Act to address disability sector.”
More
Five Predictors Of Autism In Infants Identified
A US psychologist, Dr. Rebecca Landa, says she has identified five predictors of autism in infants.
The five predictors identified were – lack of response to others’ attempts to engage the babies in play, infrequent attempts to initiate joint
activities, few types of consonants produced when trying to communicate vocally, problems in responding to vocal requests and a keen interest in
repetitive acts, such as staring at a toy while twirling it. In Dr. Landa’s investigation, the presence of all five behaviors at 14 months predicted
an eventual diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in 15 of 16 children.
Dr. Landa’s study consists of 250 children who were first assessed at either age 6 months or 14 months. Comprehensive measures of social, communication
and motor abilities were obtained at each child’s home and repeated at 18, 24, 30 and 36 months of age. The sample included 110 children considered to
be at high risk for developing autism because they had older siblings already diagnosed with the same condition.
Preliminary evidence suggests that high-risk 14-month-olds who later develop autism display signs of delayed motor development as early as 6 to 7
months of age, Dr. Landa noted. In particular, these youngsters had difficulty keeping their heads stable when slowly raised from a prone position, writes
Bruce Bower in Science News.
But psychologists cautioned that much remains unknown about the early identification and treatment of autism. Infant siblings of older children with
autism represent a special group that’s especially likely to show early signs of the same disorder, they said.
“I’m not sure the majority of children with autism spectrum disorder have predictive symptoms by 12 or 14 months,” said Dr. Sally Rogers of the University
of California. In her own long-term studies, some children without autistic siblings show a gradual slowing of social and language development over
several years that leads to autism, while others show no autism symptoms at all until being diagnosed with the disorder at age 4 or 5.
