Vikasa Special School founded in 1997. VSS focuses on activity-oriented learning, promoting sports, arts and crafts to ensure all-round development. As most children at VSS (Vikasa Special School), come from financially backward families, facilities like mid-day meals, books, uniforms, healthcare, rehabilitation, transportation and adapted learning techniques supplement their academic inputs. This model has ensures 90% mainstreaming, with most children moving on to regular or special schools.

The flagship initiative of Vikasa Special school is a completely barrier free school which has 78 Children with Disabilities with disabilities (Locomotors, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation, Multiple Disability, Autism and Hearing Impaired) which provides therapeutic support, Activity of Daily Living Training, Nutritional support, Integrated and special educational support, medical services, Orthopedic aids and appliances support, co curricular activities, vocational training and recreational support to the children for their better life.

Special education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students’ individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures. To work for the challenged children the concept of inclusive education is no doubt an innovative idea where the children get the maximum level of opportunity to strengthen their life.

We believe, where possible, in participation of the person with the disability.

We reach to the poor in urban areas through cost effective interventions in health, education, livelihood, social protection, empowerment and employment.

We advocate for an Inclusive Education system that is not a separate program in schools, but a user-friendly concept with an accessible environment that benefits all children.

Make inclusion for children with disabilities prevalent at three levels: physical, social and educational.

OBJECTIVES:

·To provide comprehensive care and support to children with Disabilities for improving the standard of their lives.

·To provide counseling and social support to families of children with disabilities to ensure sustained development approach to disability.

·To improve understanding and awareness on disability among the general population towards a community based rehabilitation.

·To ensure that the rights of PWDs are protected and PWDs are able to access rights and entitlements

·Early intervention to identify nature and degree of disability

·Prepare, plan and execute a learning schedule/methodology for each child depending on their ability

·Adaptive techniques and alternate methods of teaching children with special needs

·The children undergo physiotherapy and mobility aids training regularly during school hours

·Professional counselors help children develop self-esteem and self-confidence and motivate them through counseling activities

·VSS conducts extra-curricular and co-curricular activities for all-round development

·Capacity building for parents on disability management and sign language communication skills to facilitate communication with speech & hearing impaired children

·Sensitize and train mainstream school teachers so that they are sufficiently equipped and motivated to teach disabled children

·A 100% disabled friendly school with best infrastructure, technology and facilities; Can operate and cater to more than 200 students with disabilities and those from underprivileged backgrounds

·Special facilities include a recreation facilities, yoga, gymnasium, computer lab etc.

·Spacious classrooms with state of the art teaching & learning aids,

·Improved physical environment - lighting and paint schemes to help students with visual impairments

·Lifts and ramps to help students with mobility challenges

·Higher Education Sign boards to help students with hearing impairments

·Teaching learning materials made available in accessible formats

VOCATIONAL TRAINING

The overview of the livelihood support program for VSSs is to ensure inherent talents in the age group of 14 onwards are assured of gainful employment and income that will help them to improve standard of their lives through producing high quality handicrafts made of earthen materials, which will be good looking, remunerative, eco friendly with the taste of incredible India to compete the global market. The products are made by natural resources, which collected from the native parts of our mother land. All materials are eco friendly.

When children reach a level at which they are ready to engage in productive activity they are introduced to the vocational training unit. The aim of training is to impart vocational skills to the clients that prepare them for a contributory role in the family and community. Vocational skills are taught by professional skills instructors, who assess the skills and interests of each resident and build the training programme based on the individual. Some of the favorite courses of Vikasa Special School are tailoring, embroidery, candle making and paper cover making.

OBJECTIVES:

To provide Vocational Training to the over age children with disabilities.

To rehabilitate the children / persons with disabilities economically.

To help the persons with disabilities for entrepreneurship development.

1.    To train the Mentally Challenged children on daily living skills

2.    To provide education for the Mentally Challenged children based on their IQ

3.    To provide food for the Mentally Challenged children

4.    To provide vocational trainings on IQ level of the children and also doctor’s certificate

To provide short and medium term psychosocial and occupational therapy to mentally ill childrens.

To extend rehabilitation support to the poor childrens.

To educate the people on mental illness.

Provide comprehensive rehabilitation services to mentally ill childrens.

Right looking to strengthen the movement related to child rights. Food, cloth and shelter are the basic need of human beings. It is necessary for survive but not sufficient. Education helps the person to fulfill the second order condition.

Facilities provided to children.

We are providing free milk & Midday meal

We have very good trained teachers in our school and they have good rapport with students and parents.<o:p></o:p>

We also teach them to learn “ Vishnu Sahasranama” along with other ‘shlokas’ which has yielded good results In speech therapy.

We have good equipment such as walker and other equipment to help them in physical exercise.

Physiotherapy has given encouraging results in their easy movements of hands and limbs.

THERAPEUTIC  INTER VENTIONS:

Seventy five percent of the students at Tamana require speech and occupational and /or physiotherapy. Each child's speech, language and motor problems are scientifically evaluated. Special care is taken to ensure that teachers and parents are fully involved in the ongoing program.

Occupational therapy is administered by occupational therapist and an assistant through manual and equipment aided techniques.

SPEECH THERAPY:

Speech therapy is part of school curriculum.

ART THERAPY:

Art is a form of expression and a way of communicating. At Tamana we try to achieve the primary aim of art therapy, that is to provide a ‘safe’ non- judgmental environment in which to create and have aesthetic experiences. The very act of art making demands some active involvement, risk taking and unique self-expression. Thoughts, perceptions and emotions of the special individual, who at times may be nonverbal, are expressed through the creative act itself and in any follow up discussion. Because it is non- judgmental or non- critical there are no rights or wrongs. The acquisition of skills can be very motivating. As individual acquire more skills, they are better able to undergo a wider range of aesthetic experiences. There is a subtle interplay between aesthetic awareness and skills acquisitions. Art can provide a path for motivation, communications as well as an emotional outlet.

Art is also be used as a therapeutic activity to help cognitive development and physical coordination.

DANCE AND MOVEMENT THERAPY:

Children are guided through experimental movement activities to become aware of their bodies and develop deeper understanding of them. While engaging in body preparatory exercises, movement activities and games they have been stimulated to think, memorize, feel and express ideas through their bodies. The movements help improve their body coordination, attention span and imitation skills. The dance sessions have led to a feel good factor in the students and they are loosing their inhibitions. The students also get opportunities to perform their dances in front of varied audiences thus giving a boost to their self confidence and self esteem.

ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING:

Activities in this curricular area include eating, dressing and maintaining hygiene. The child learns the basic etiquettes and mannerism to interact with the society with more confidence.

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