"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
~ Dr. Seuss ~
V-Excel News
On September 5th Teacher’s Day was celebrated. All the staff of V-Excel including volunteers went on a half-day
outing. The forenoon session was filled with fun and games followed by sumptuous lunch. A small way of thanking the teachers
and support staff for their year round efforts!
State Bank of India donated Rs. 80,000 towards equipment for Sensory Integration and Montessori Therapy. On September 8th,
a formal handing over program was held.
The Board of Trustees met on September 25th. The discussions this time centered on how to elicit
increased funding and support for new projects and initiatives.
The members of the Board of Trustees of ESVI Sarada Foundation, Shastri Nagar, and the management committee of V-Excel Educational
Trust, met on September 24th. Together they will be setting up the V-Excel Research and Rehabilitation Centre to be
inaugurated on November 1st. The operational and financial facets of the project were discussed during the meeting.
We have recently commenced remedial intervention in Bangalore. Unlike in Chennai, where we provide remedial training at
our Center, here we operate on the concept of ‘Resource Room’ with a regular school. Children from kindergarten to ninth grade,
who were consistent underachievers, were assessed for specific learning disabilities, if any. Some of these who required
professional help are now being trained by our remedial teacher at the school premises, within the school hours, with the
consent of their parents and the school authorities. We have tied-up with the Spastic Society of Karnataka for ensuring local
technical support. We are happy that the program has been well-received.
Academy of Teacher Excellence News
Being the last lap of the first term, examinations were conducted in all the subjects. Some of the students displayed
a lot of enthusiasm and brilliance during the paper presentations. During the last week of the first term, the students were
taught to write lesson plans and IEPs.
Kaleidoscope Learning Center (KLC) News
It was KLC’s day out on the first of September. The children, teachers and a few parents were taken to Guindy park for
an excursion arranged by the Rotract Club of Chennai. Truly the friends of V-Excel, the club had arranged for the children to
have an exciting day complete with the joyous bus ride, food at the venue and a chance to play in the park and view the animals
during the excursion. Everyone enjoyed the day.
Three teachers, Rashmi, Neha and Archana attended a conference in New Delhi on autism. They also attended a “Handle”
workshop and later presented their learning to the others in an in service training on the September 19th.
On September 22nd which marked the beginning of the festive Navratri season, the school displayed a golu and the children
of primary 1 and primary 4 danced the Dandiya …… it was a tremendous effort on the part of the teachers to teach this simple
coordinated dance to the children. But the success of the small group which was taught speared on the other children in
the group and in the end the whole school was alive with song and dance. It was on this note that KLC closed for the first
term. School reopens on the fourth of October.
V-Excel Remedial Center (VRC) News
Our own John Murugaselvam, was the facilitator for the workshop on ‘Creative Movement’ in September. The teachers,
got together to learn activities that can be interwoven in the remedial classroom. John showed us in his own gentle inimitable
way, how we could incorporate the various movement techniques in stimulating our children to learn better. The teachers not
only enjoyed the session, but are also looking forward to using the skills taught by him.
Children in the Autism Spectrum have been consistently displaying their ability to read at a very young age. The teachers
are trying to explore this in depth, by working with the children and to understand the level of comprehension. Given the
difficulties in expression and socialization that our children have, we are trying to help them overcome huge barriers. The
children are trying very hard to prevail over the obvious difficulties in showing us the veiled talents.
Our other interesting stories for the month are:
Deepika showed a remarkable interest in solving algebraic equations.
Nikhil enjoys geometry and has shown that he understands angles differently.
Akshaya Vahene can translate any word given to her from Tamil into English and vice versa. In fact she revels at her
ability and enjoys learning new words like this.
Venkatesh has learnt to work in class without his mandatory helmet. He now attempts to control his self-injurious
orientation and has found a way to smile it off with his teacher. He has been trying to walk independently.
Bridges Learning Academy
The teachers had an in-service in September. The topic covered was Curriculum Based Measurement: it was done by Viji
Shanmugha. The participation was good and they had lots of questions.
The children had their quarterly assessment in the week before we closed for puja. The school worked half day that
week and the last Friday was an open day for parents to come in, meet the teachers and collect report cards. The parent
participation was very good as they came in to talk to the class teachers about the children.
A long-felt need of counseling the children on various issues was addressed this month as two counselors started work
at BLA. One of them did group sessions with the senior class and a middle level class while the other started work with
individual children.
The end of September saw one of our staff leave for personal reasons. The classes have been revamped and new teachers
appointed to fill up places so that programs are tighter and better packed. We hope this trend will continue!
V-Excel Outreach
Awareness and Medical camps were conducted in all of the ten blocks at Villupuram during the month of September. This time
the requirement was for aids and appliances for 420 children. The requirement of appliances like wheel chairs, tricycles
with hand pedals, glasses, calipers and hearing aids has increased this year. So we have sought the support of Rotary Club
to fund the cost of the same.
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.
The "No Pants" Toilet Training Method
The bottom line on potty training children with special needs is that they’ll do it when they’re ready. That readiness
may be impacted by physical, developmental, emotional, sensory, and other factors that don’t respond to bribes and threats.
When it comes to potty training, kids hold all the cards, and if they won’t or can’t cooperate, it’s almost impossible to make
them. However, if you think your child might be ready, here’s a technique to try.
1. Set aside a week to focus on absolutely nothing else but potty training. No school, no work,
no playdates, no outings, no visitors, no nothing. This is serious business for your child. Treat it seriously.
2. Gather the following supplies: A portable potty chair, A waterproof crib liner, A long T-shirt
that covers your child’s private parts, “Pool shoes” or flip-flops, Loose boy’s swim trunks.
3. At the start of your scheduled week, dress your child in nothing but the T-shirt No diapers,
no underpants, no pants or skirt, no socks or shoes, just the shirt. Explain that this will be his or her outfit for the next
few days.
4. Wherever your child goes, the potty chair and crib liner follow. If he’s watching TV, he’s
sitting on the potty chair. If she’s playing on the floor, she’s sitting on the crib liner.
5. Limit outside play to a private area where your child can continue to go pants-less. If there’s
a safe area of your backyard, you can let him or her run around. If not, it’s indoors and on the crib liner for the duration.
6. If you absolutely have to leave home, add a pair of loose boy’s swim trunks and pool shoes or flip
flops to your child’s T-shirt outfit. The idea is to stay away from anything that would be a problem if it got
wet. And get back home fast.
7. Keep this up for a week, or until your child gets with the potty program, whichever happens first
If you’re really firm and really consistent, this method should focus your child’s attention on his potty needs.
~ by Terri Mauro
