Society For Promotion of Alternative Computing and Employment
Where free software is a way of life
The sound, smell, illumination and the crowd while shopping can create sensory disintegration among autistic children. Therefore Insight planned to take the students to a super market in Kesavadasapuram which is 15 minutes from the organization. Prior permission was taken from the shop and they agreed to assist the children too. The motive for the day was to teach the children how to shop and to prepare them to experience the situation. 5 children along with their parents came for the shopping trip on 12/2/2018. The children with assistance from the parents and teachers followed a list that was made and learnt how to take items, identify fruits and vegetables, ask questions to the shopkeepers, pay the bill, receive and check the balance and put all the items in the bag. The students were interested in shopping and wheeling the trolley. The teachers and parents had to be patient and the staff at the shop learnt to support them and to interact with them. This real life experience was a delightful and a much better learning experience rather than learning from books.
During this period, two training programmes were conducted for trainers of children with special needs. The first one was at South Urban Resource Centre, Sathram School, Fort on 27/10/2017. Two teachers were introduced to the Insight training methodology. The software also was installed at the autism centre there and the students attending the centre would be benefitted by this programme. The second training programme was for three teachers of St. Martha Special School, Menamkulam. It was a two days training programme at Insight on the 28th and 29th of December, 2017. These three teachers would act as Master trainers for imparting the training for other teachers in their school.
Government College of Teacher Education conducted a workshop on inclusive education practices for autistic students at upper primary and secondary school level for three days. On the first day Insight apprised them on the use of technology in special education. The participants were Resource teachers of government schools from various districts of Kerala.
Insight partook in the Disability day celebrations of the Department of Social Justice and Thiruvananthapuram district panchayat on 7/12/2017. The chief guest of the programme was Smt. K.K.Shailaja, Minister for Health and Social Justice. The stall put up on the occasion exhibited the technology used at Insight for the children with special needs.
Students of D.Ed in special education in CIMR Murinjapalam and SIMC Pangappara are introduced to the use of technology for children with special needs every year by Insight. It’s a 5 days programme and the students get an overview of the training methodology through technology that could be used effectively with cognitively challenged students. This training programme equips them to prepare an educational plan using a software and to use technology as a teaching tool in the academic progress, speech and language development, behaviour modification and concept development of their cognitively challenged students. Training programme for CIMR students was conducted in two batches, one from 6/11/2017 to 10/11/2017 and the second one from 27/11/2017 to 1/12/2017. 11 students of I year D.Ed S.E (MR) of CIMR underwent training at Insight this year.
NIEPMD organized a national conference on holistic development of persons with multiple disabilities at St. John of God College of Special Education, Kottayam for Special Educators, Rehabilitation Professionals and Social Workers for two days on the 22nd and 23rd of November, 2017. Insight was represented by our staff as speaker at the conference. Insight experiences was shared at the conference and the innovative teaching methodology was discussed. It has created a new awareness among the special educators who attended the conference that technology could be used as teaching and learning tool for the cognitively challenged.
Insight conducts training programmes for parents regularly to equip them to teach their children in their homes. This is a necessity as the students are able to get only two sessions a week at Insight and so the parents had to be the teachers during the rest of the days. Students who are inaccessible to the facilities of Insight are also advantaged through this parents’ training programme. On 18/10/2017 training programme was conducted for 11 parents who came from different places of Thiruvananthapuram district. Out of this 11, two were grandparents.
Summer camps are one of the ways to stay active during the summer holidays, learn and also have fun. Insight summer camp for the year 2017 was held from 15/5/2017 to 19/5/2017 for five days. The theme for the camp was ‘colour’, to make the camp extra colourful. The camp days were made bright with staff and children wearing a particular colour on all the camp days. 25 students of age group 5 to 16 attended the camp.
The camp had multifaceted activities from gardening to cooking, art and craft work. Dance and folk songs added flavour to the camp activities. Each day started with prayer, had physical movements to relieve tension and improve cognitive processing, activities for skill development and self expression through folk songs and action songs to help them communicate.
The first day had gardening to start with. Garden is a place with calming atmosphere and stimulates the senses of the children with autism. The students enthusiastically brought flowering plants from their homes and enjoyed planting them at Insight. The colour, smell and texture of the plants were appealing to their senses. There was team work among themselves while planting and watering. This experience has given them self confidence to replicate it in their homes.
The second day gave them an opportunity to practice their culinary skills. The menu had fruit salad and puffed rice laddu. The students were able to identify and taste different fruits which enhanced their sense of taste. While making puffed rice laddu, they were able to feel the sticky jaggery inducing tactile stimulation. They had a wonderful time making them and eating it too with great delight.
Art and craft is part of any summer camp and here also the students had the opportunity to use their creativity in making fans using crepe paper. The decoration on the fans explicitly revealed their imagination and individuality.
Children with special needs especially children with ASD, have problem with socialization and communication. They have difficulty in understanding family relationships and also to address them. The fourth day was a learning experience about family relationships by arranging photos of family members in a frame and decorating it using their unique abilities. It gave them tactile stimulation also as they were making use of glue .
Fifth day instilled in them the concept of making use of waste materials into something creative and useful. Students brought T- shirts from home which cannot be used by them and the teachers helped them to make pot hangers out of it. This gave them the idea that waste material could be made use in various ways using their imagination.
The common folk songs and action songs taught everyday is sung by them even after the camp at home. Parents have appreciated the changes that the camp has brought about and desired for such camps not only during summer but also during onam and christmas holidays.
There were special games everyday which inevitably brought about changes in them. Games such as setting up rooms facilitated them to understand the different objects that have to be retained in each rooms. Talent hunt was another feature in the summer camp which brought forth different talents of the students. Musical games, exercises to the beat of drums, book balancing, identifying animal sounds augmented their knowledge as well as gross motor abilities.
The camp has provided the students an opportunity to develop positive behaviours and social skills along with fun and games. It has also prevented regression that usually occurs during the summer vacation. Summer camp has improved their confidence, self esteem, communication skills and friendship that could be continued further in their life. Summer camp was an eye opener to teachers as well. They were able to ascertain the different characteristics of each student which could come in handy during their sessions in future.
Teach Reading Easy was another workshop attended by two of our staff that helped them to understand the methodologies behind teaching reading for children with special needs, the challenges and ways to overcome the obstacles in reading. The transfer of knowledge to other staff helped to create personal books for our students and also learning and teaching through flash cards.
A workshop was conducted on 6/5/2017 by Mr. Subid an IITian who is famous for his Ahimsa toys, toys that are made out of waste materials. Some of his toys are paper puppets, table spinning tops made of pet bottles, flutes made of straw and magic paper wands. Parents and teachers of Insight participated in the workshop and benefitted by getting hands on training in making toys using materials available in their homes. Some of his toys were alternative to sensory stimulation materials that are available in the market.
May Flowers 2016, the summer camp of Insight was organized from 2 about a change in the monotony of the routine affairs of its students and to bring about enthusiasm and inspiration for the next academic year. It was a child centered programme away from technology and academic pressures. Everyday started with a morning prayer followed by relaxation exercises to help them reduce the stress and enjoy the rest of the day. There was music and creative movements everyday through dance to improve balance and gross motor skills. Camp had sessions to promote personal development in a noncompetitive environment. Skills that would help in activities of daily living such as buttoning, tying shoe laces, plaiting hair, were reviewed to help them do it independently. Personalized name key chains were made by them which gave them an importance and pride in their name. A session which developed individuality and creativity is framing their own photos and also decorating it. The campers were proud to take home their framed photos and personalized key chains on the last day.
Kids’ kitchen was another interesting multisensory activity for the kids in the camp. They were able to touch, taste, smell all the ingredients of rice flakes snack, juice and sandwich. They had a great time making food for themselves and eating it too.
Group activities were organized to help them interact with each other and have fun. Games which can improve the fine motor skills and eye hand coordination such as sorting of grains and colouring pictures using crayons were also included in the camp. Afternoon sessions were refreshed by simple folk songs and action songs which are being hummed by them even after the camp.
The camp came to an end with a tour to Kovalam, Aquarium and Veli tourist village on the final day. The beach walk at Kovalam gave massaging to the soles of the feet and also improved the blood circulation. The visit to Aquarium helped to calm down the autistic children and the bright colours and moving shapes gave stimulation to their senses. At Veli tourist village, the children were able to enjoy the boat ride and also cross the lake from one side to another through a floating bridge. It was a beautiful scenic spot which helped both parents and children to relax and admire the serenity of the lake and tourist spot.
The six day programme culminated with development of social skills, peer interactions, personal development along with fun and entertainment.
A workshop was conducted on 29/2/2016 and 1/3/2016 for the 18 students studying D.Ed.S.E (A.S.D) Course in SIMC, Pangappara. The workshop gave an awakening to these students on how technology can assist in child’s learning, improve speech, bring about a change in behaviour through social stories, develop cognitive skills and boost their self confidence.
December 3rd is celebrated as International day of people with disability all over the world. The theme for this year by United Nations is Inclusion matters: access and empowerment for people of all disabilities. To commemorate this, Insight conducted a day trip to Magic planet, the world’s first magic mansion at Kazhakkoottam, Thiruvananthapuram. It was a novel experience and a day of fun and frolic for the students and parents.
Shalom Special School, is a Centre for children with disabilities situated at Vattappara, Trivandrum. Here children are taught formal education, activities of daily living skills etc. Insight gave training to 13 of their teachers on 26/8//2015 and 21/9/2015 to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a child with special need and to give assistance for their limitations through ICT training. It was a new perception for them and they are planning to introduce ICT training to their students in their training method. The divergent activities in the centre for students, trainers and parents are resourceful and enlightening to the participants and has brought about a positive change in their lives.
The harvest festival of Kerala Onam, is a festival which is celebrated every year at
Insight wth great enthusiasm by the students. This year also it was celebrated
on 22/8/2015 with the usual nostalgia. Cultural programmes and competitions
were organised for both parents and students. All the students were made to
participate in the competitions and it was a time of enthusiasm and social get together for them. The half day celebration ended with the customary payasam.
Multi sensory environment creates a stimulating and calming atmosphere to children with developmental and behaviour disorders. SPACE (Society for Promotion of Alternative Computing and Employment) in collaboration with SBI Life, Trivandrum bestowed a multi sensory environment for the students of Insight at its centre at Vellayambalam on 1/8/2015. Shri. K. Muralidharan MLA was the Chief Guest on the occasion who inaugurated the sensory room. Shri. Subash Babu, Regional Director of SBI Life offered his felicitations. It was a gathering of nearly 80 people consisting of parents, friends and well wishers who came to bless the centre on its growth.
The summer camp 2015 at Insight called “KINGINI KOOTTAM” was a great learningexperience to the students who attended the camp. It was the first time many children spent anextended period of time away from home and parents. The children were encouraged to try newthings in safe surroundings.
Physical activities such as exercise, dance and games gave them an opportunity to move. It alsoreconnected them with nature by planting flowering plants in painted pots. Arts and crafts are agreat way for special needs children to express feelings, enhance their social skills and cognitive functioning, resolve frustrations, and increase their use of sensorimotor skills including handeyecoordination and sensory stimulation. Our Kingini Koottam made wall hangings out of plastic cupsbeads and straw. The camp was also made educational by teaching them money management through the piggy banks they made out of plastic bottles.
A summer camp never ends without entertainment. The most exciting and important part of thecamp is the dance for the song ‘I love you mummy’ which really touched the parents emotionallywho came to watch the final day programme. This summer camp was one of the most rewarding,unforgettable experience in their life by providing educational, physical and social development.
Centre for Learning at Kuttiyadi, Kozhicode is a Centre for children with learning disabilities run by a Paediatrician committed to service to the society. So far, nearly 1800 students have been trained through this Centre. Insight gave them training to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a child with special need and to give assistance for their limitations through ICT training. It was a new perception for the two Doctors and 3 Special educators who are working there. They are planning to incorporate Insight’s ideologies into their training method.
To extend the services of Insight, we are organizing parents’ training programme to train parents of children with special needs who are unable to attend classes at Insight. One such programme was conducted at Insight on 12/11/2015. The second Parents’ training programme was conducted on 2/4/2015 to commemorate with World Autism day. Parents’ training programmes paves way for broadening our services and resources to other students who are not able to come to the centre.
