"Music expresses feeling and thought, without language; it was below and before speech, and it is above and beyond all words. " Robert Ingersoll
V-Excel News
We are planning a grand Annual Day celebration around mid-February 2010 where over 100 special children will participate
on stage. Planning, meetings and preparations for this have begun enthusiastically to see that the event becomes a
success. We would be happy if interested persons write in to us to sponsor different cost components of the program.
We had organized a felicitation program on the 22nd of this month to honour our Director, Dr. Vasudha Prakash, for
receiving the Mother Teresa Award for exemplary work in the social sector. Enthusiasts who know her well shared with
the audience the traits that, they felt, made Dr. Vasudha the unique person that she is. She told everyone about
the award ceremony in Los Angeles and about other institutions that she saw while in the US. All in all, it was a
very interesting evening.
Diwali was celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm by our children, complete with fireworks and sweets. Watching them enjoy
to their heart’s content was the biggest joy their parents and teachers got!
Kaleisdoscope Learning Centre
This Diwali, on October 15th, we celebrated Diwali with our children in the school. It was difficult to gauge which sparks
lit up the place more, the children’s eyes or the sparklers brought specially for them!
We now have regular in-service training by John Miller, our Head of Occupational Therapy Unit. The series of sessions focus
on development of walking, speaking, thinking through games and lectures. The first in the series was held this month and
given the interest it triggered, we look forward to many more sessions.
With KLC being the prime coordinator for the upcoming school day, teachers have been very busy getting the children ready
for different roles to be played in the show. The program will give an excellent platform for our children to show what they
learn and are capable of, while also highlighting the theme that every person is valuable.
Academy for Teacher Excellence
Mrs. Prema. G introduced us to vocational training which was very informative for our team. We got hands on experience
on how to work a paper bag. We also got an opportunity to present a virtual vocational unit.
We visited the Ability Foundation’s film festival, where we watched Richard Pimentel’s story depicted in the form of the
movie ‘Music within’. Based on a true story, the film is about a deaf man and his friend who has cerebral palsy. They,
along with a group of friends, set about to change people’s perceptions about people with disabilities, and along the way
play an important role in the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the improvement in hiring
practices involving those with disabilities. It was a very inspiring and touching film, through which we also learnt a lot
about enforcement of ADA. It gave us an opportunity to discuss and review our knowledge on various related subjects.
Early Intervention Unit
The focus for the children in the age group of 2-3 has been activity-based learning. Goals were identified in the
various areas of development and activities were constructed to promote learning. The activities were either sensory-based,
or motor based and were carried out either independently or as a combination of the two. Certain sessions were designed
to impart age appropriate functional skills.
For the school going children the focus was on writing skills. The writing task has been task analyzed into the following -
Motor co-ordination exercises for upper extremity
Eye hand co-ordination activity
Manipulative activity
Fine skills using fingers
Pre writing skills activity (tracing, mapping)
Grip and grasp activity
Use of adaptations
Impression and writing
Follow-up and review sessions have been conducted to assess the level of improvement with respect to the goals set
for every child.
Bridges Learning Academy
Mid–October heralded the onset of Diwali. The children celebrated this colorful festival with a great deal of enthusiasm.
All of them enjoyed the fireworks display in the evening. The following day, the children came dressed to school to show
off their new clothes.
All the teachers are focusing on enhancing the academic skills of the children. Tests are being conducted periodically
and individual worksheets are prepared for each child to reinforce the concepts taught in class.
V-Excel Remedial Centre
The second term of the academic year is well begun and the teachers were geared up in planning programs for the students.
The diligent and zealous implementation followed the program designed for every child.
As a part of our ongoing training schedule, an in-service program on Anthroposophy was organized by John and Parimal. All
the teachers gathered together to understand this philosophy that supports the curriculum and understand various activities
carried out such as use of copper rods, foot bath and bamboo sticks for holistic development of children.
VRC team welcomed a new student Devaneswaran, a child with Autism, and bid farewell to Vijay Sharavan (also a child with
Autism) who has moved a step forward to VRC Red group. Because of continuous remediation his sitting tolerance and attention
span had improved which paved the way for him be a part of the group.
Rural Outreach Program
Four German volunteers - Lorenz, Andrei, Marco and Ann - have joined our institute this month for time bound projects.
Two of them are working in our city units while two are working under our rural program. We welcome all these youngsters who
have taken it upon themselves to understand these special children and work in whatever relevant area is assigned to them.
The two rural volunteers are in Thiruvanainallur block where they are associated with three schools and will teach the
children conversational English, drawing and painting. They are also helping the Physiotherapist in the Resource Room once a
week and accompanying the Special Educator on home visits. We would like to specially thank Mr. Padmanabhan, one of our senior
SSA teachers who, despite his recent accident, has readily agreed to support these volunteers and help them around in the
alien village setup. We wish all the volunteers the very best in their work with special children.
Vocational Training Unit
We are growing in numbers. Vaishali, who is hearing impaired and has mild learning disability, joined us mid–October.
We also have a new teacher, Shanthi and two new volunteers Charumathi (from Chennai) and Andrei (from Germany).
We also have new machines, a paper-cutter and a photocopying machine, thanks to which we are able to make new creative
items. For example, this Deepavali, our children performed an excerpt from Ramayana for which we needed ten heads for Ravana;
these machines came to our rescue!
The Deepavali drama was the highlight of the month. One of our students, Ashutosh, knew the actual story of Rama-Laxman-
Sita-Hanuman and was disappointed when he found that Surpanakha’s nose would not be cut-off in the play! After the program,
each child lit the lamp of the student standing next, signifying spreading of light and knowledge from one to another.
The unit is now two and a half years old and soon some of our trainees will complete the entire three-year curriculum. We
look forward to their independence in work in the longer run.
Our Unit Head, Dorothy, attended the AGM of ARUNIM (Association for Rehabilitation under National Trust Initiative
in Marketing) in Delhi. She had taken a sample of the products made by our special children and a CD of our activities.
About ten products, such as fancy stoles, files, paper bags, cell phone holders etc.) were selected. Later, parents can come
together to form self–help groups with their children and, with this membership, there will be a marketing platform ready
for their products. ARUNIM will also give art sample cards to our trainees and so they will be able market their product.
Counseling and Assessment Unit
After the holidays and festivals - Diwali and Dassera – the children are settling down again. Now the school is fully
engrossed in the preparation of Annual day practice!
Children coming for play therapy have shown great progress in overcoming their issues. Not surprising, more and more
children coming for consultations are being referred for play therapy. It gives us encouragement and strength to see this
method healing many children.
We had an invitation to talk about Play, Music and Movement therapy to the teachers, therapists and special educators of
Vidyasudha School. We had great fun taking the teachers and therapists through the kindergarten syllabus of hopping skipping
and singing! They enjoyed it thoroughly and have asked us to come to give a demo in how to conduct free play for children!
As regards our work with the private sector, we are now handling many more cases, covering varied areas in counseling; it
is proving to be an extremely challenging task!
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.
Disability need not stop anyone from work and economic freedom. Perfumed candles, microwaveproof leaf plates, trendy
clothes and accessories, all these and more are being made by people with autism, multiple disabilities and are sold in
obscure locations across the country.
Now these products will carry a brand name and will be knit together as a giant marketing corporation with markets
in India and abroad.
The process began this week with the former President APJ Abdul Kalam launching the Association for Rehabilitation
under National Trust Initiative in Marketing (ARUNIM), an autonomous body under the National Trust, for the welfare of
persons with autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities. The body will be run under the Ministry
for Social Justice and Empowerment.
ARUNIM will be the official salesman for the products and services of the disabled as well as a market place for them to
sell their wares.
ARUNIM, with a corpus of Rs 1 crore, is already on the move. Its chairperson Sminu Jindal, who also heads Jindal Saw and an
NGO Swayam, says she will soon appoint a researcher or consultant to identify the available products with the 800 NGO
members of the National Trust. These will now naturally become members of ARUNIM making it a huge cooperative network right
from the beginning.
“The research is needed to understand to prioritise the prouduct launches. The second agenda before ARUNIM is to get more
corporations into the effort. So many companies are doing their bit for the disabled but the impact gets dissipated as
there is no synergising agent,” she says.
"We will be totally market driven and will guide many present manufacturers to migrate from one product to another, which has
a better chance of success. It would mean standardisation and training people in manufacturing successful products. We may have
a set of 400 or just 20 products. In about a year, our first product will be in the market under our brand
name,” she adds.
While the branding and marketing plans to help those with multiple disabilities and conditions like autism, ARUNIM may
also be able to support people with temporarily disabled bodies, like from an accident or disease, says the wheelchair-
bound Jindal who lost her legs in a road accident. She gives full credit to the National Trust chairperson Poonam Natarajan
for the effort.”It is Natarajan’s vision which has led to the birth of ARUNIM,” she says.
Natarajan is very clear about objectives. The point is that the disabled also need to earn money. “They are earning now
but not enough,” says Natarajan.
