Children at Srividhya school are divided into Pre-primary, Primary, Secondary and
Pre-vocational sections based on their mental age and social skills.
Training is imparted to all i.e. mild, moderate , severe and profoundly retarded
children.
a)
At Pre-primary level children should identify colours, vegetables, fruits, vehicles
and any, objects i.e. fan, door, home and their belongings like bags, shoes , their
body-parts and their names i.e. they should respond when some one calls their names.
Also to indicate toilet-needs and take food by themselves children should have proper
eye-hand coordination and be able to follow instructions.
b)
At Primary level children should name all colours, vegetables, fruits and objects
like vehicles etc., They should tell their names and do meaningful counting of 1
to 10 numbers using small sentences. They should be able to wear their clothes and
take their food without spilling and wait for their turn.They should be able to
greet others and attend social get-togethers.
c)
At Secondary level they should express their needs using sentences, write their
names, names of their family members, house address, telephone number, do simple
additions, identify clock and calendar and also learn to serve food and share things
with others. They should have an inkling of money-concept and be able to communicate
their needs in a way that will be socially acceptable.
d)
At Pre-vocational level they should dress-up neatly, wash their clothes and plates,
handle fire, light a stove, cut vegetables and prepare simple snacks like sandwiches,
coffee/tea etc., write their biodata, prepare leave letter, exchange money, understand
the difference between yesterday, today and tomorrow, be able to use calculators
and share their food/eatables with others. These children can exchange jokes among
themselves and enjoy the same. They can listen to their choice of music, watch movies,
and also understand the concept behind various items like hospitals, bus-stand,
railway station, and using a watch learn concept of time. They should be able to
pack things, seal things, arrange things in a shelf/carton. The should also receive
visitors, prepare provision lists and time-table.
e)
At Vocational level children (excluding profound and severely retarded children
)are taught to learn atta-making, candle-making and envelope making, preparing greeting
cards etc in our Centre.
f)
Severe and profoundly retarded children who have gross motor and fine motor problems
are taught self-help skills like toilet-indication ; wearing clothes and taking
their food independently. Further few social skills are taught like greeting others,
watching TV without disturbing others and listening to music and playing with others
i.e.indoor games. Each goal can be achieved in a duration of three months to one
year by these children.
  
Features and Initiatives of Sri Vidhya:
In addition to applying established methods of special education, the staff at Sri Vidhya’s also make use of innovative techniques like yoga, music and dance therapy, meditation, computer applications and cooking classes to enhance learning. Sri Vidya also engages actively in extra-curricular activities like excursions, games etc., and these activities apart from being great fun also help children learn. For example in cooking classes children to work as group and do errands like fetching plates, serving items, cutting vegetables, arranging plates, dealing with fire etc. During excursions children are taught to identify animals, birds, trees, and objects of interest like buses, people etc.,
The school also conducts regular health-checkups for all the children by experienced
paediatricians & meets all medical expenses in this regard from its own resources.
A physiotherapist works with students who require neuro-muscular stimulation.Sri
Vidhya also conducts yoga classes daily involving simple exercises for developing
concentration skills. Sri Vidhya also uses Music Therapy in the training of children
especially the hyperactive ones.
Sri Vidya as part of its goal to extend its reach has started hostel facility to
cater to children from the outskirts of the Twin Cities and take care of the profound
cases , a unique service being the only one of its kind in the City.
Sri Vidhya has a functional Vocational Training Centre comprising of Atta-making
unit(donated by a well-wisher) and Candle making unit (funded by GE ELFUN) ; Wet-grinder
(donated by a well-wisher) for making wet-batter..
Children and staff of Sri Vidhya participate actively in various functions (including
Sports Meet ) organized by various Institutions; Govt. Departments etc.. Sri Vidya
also participates in various training programs conducted by N.I.M.H. both for parents
and teachers.
Sri Vidhya is also catering to the poorer and downtrodden sections of the society
by adopting and imparting training to children from the nearby slum areas free of
cost.
 
Development of Domestic Skills:
One of Sri Vidhya's special achievements is Thursday's Cooking classes. Every Thursday,
students skip study classes and engage in planning lunch for themselves. After deciding
the menu few of them go out to the shops accompanied by teacher/ayah to buy vegetables
and other groceries needed . After return few of them engage in washing/cleaning
vegetables, others cut and peel the same, some others mix ingredients and pour in
vessels, few handle gas stove/mixie, others help in laying out items and many help
in serving dishes to the assembled. After the meals are finished they help in cleaning
the things and replacing vessels, plates in proper stacking order.
This process helps students as follows:
- Learn social skills by exchange of money; interacting with people outside ;
- Gain exposure to the outside world and its sightings
- Mixing among themselves and other public help in integration of special children
with normal society.
- Improving fine movements like usage of finger tips etc..
- Trying out skills learnt in the classroom and outside in their homes and thus helping
out their kith and kin.
- Above all , Cooking classes foster spirit of participation and ensure that each
and every one of the students partake in some activity undertaken during Thursdays.
 
Also on Saturdays (which are half-days for the school) children are taught to wash
clothes and clean their things which help in developing fine-motor skills. Children
are trained to rinse clothes and hang out clothes for drying. After washing classes
children are encouraged to sing and dance to the beat of popular hits and enjoy
themselves .Obviously these sessions are immensely popular !
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