Activities of 2006

Cases of Autism have risen to a large extent. There are few institutes who cater to this category. These children/persons have very challenging behaviour, due to the lack of communication, and sensory issues. To make things more complicated, their diagnosis has been very difficult as it is a spectrum disorder, ranging from near normal to profound cases. So the early identification and intervention is a very important factor, which could bring a drastic change in the lives of these children. Inspiration Centre in Delhi has a special wing which caters to this category, while they are integrated with the rest of the other children. This has helped in the positive role modelling, and a number of cases are now integrated in the main schools. This has been possible as we have a team of multi-disciplinary staff, who work in tandem, to develop the IEP (Individual Educational Plan) of all the children. The most important factor which has led to our success is “the involvement of families—parents/siblings.” Along with services for special children, Inspiration has also been working with children in regular schools with minor difficulties. Several Activities were undertaken by the organisation as follows:-

Our students participated in the State Level Special Olympics, hosted by Welham Girls’ School in Nov ‘05.Two of them won several awards & medals.

Awareness programmes have always been the special thrust area, and one such programme was held on the 17th of March’06 at Welham Boys’ School, Dalanwala.

Two of our students participated in the Drawing Competition held at The Governor’s Residence, where one of them won a prize.

A Summer Camp was organised for the training of parents in May-June’06. 16 families were able to get the benefit of these hands-on training, along with their wards. Parents came from Maharastra, Delhi & Lucknow., & Haridwar.

Another Awareness Programme was held in May’06 at Rotary Club, Dehra Dun. This was attended by several prominent persons in Dehra Dun. These have helped to increase the awareness about intellectual disabilities, especially autism, of which very little is known, at present.

A unique Autism / IT Workshop was held in the last week of May’06 .A detailed report follows.

In August 06, the President was invited to address a PTM at a well-known Playschool in Dalanwala.

Students from Welham Girls’ School and Welham Boys’ School regularly come to interact with the children. They spent Raksha Bandhan with our students.

In the last week of Sept’06, Inspiration was invited to put up a stall for Diwali, at the PTM of Hope Town School, Selaqui.

Students from our Centre have participated in the On –The –Spot Painting Competition organised by Ramakrishna Mission ,Dehra Dun, in Oct ‘06 , and were awarded special prizes.

From the 4th-17th Oct’06, Microsoft IT Academy helped in the training of Special Educators & resource teachers of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, of the Education Dept, Govt of Uttaranchal. This was initiated by Inspiration, & supported by the Social Welfare Dept.On the 7th of Oct’06, there was the Premiere of the Film-“A for Autism…. M for Mouse”- a film made by The Anil Karanjai Trust. This is based on the Autism /IT workshop held in May. This was sponsored by the ITDA of the Uttaranchal Govt. The Premiere was jointly organised by The Anil Karanjai Trust & Inspiration.

On the 25th of Oct’06, a 1-day workshop was held at Hotel Ambassador, to train teachers & parents in the Waldorf School of Education, & Biomedical Interventions in the management of ADHD/ADD & Autism. This was conducted by Dr. Lakshmi Prasanna from Hyderabad, & Micheal Kokinos of Australia.On the 7th of Nov’06, the president was invited to Uttarkashi, as a resource person, to address the Anganvadi workers, at a camp organised by the Social Welfare Dept. of the U.A Govt.On the 11th of Nov’06, the film ‘A for Autism… M for Mouse” was shown to 500 odd students of Welham Girls’ School, as Awareness Drive. The President also conducted a Question & Answer session, following the screening. The program was highly appreciated by all present. This film is also to be screened in different schools.

The Students of the Centre have gone on trips to Mussouri, Uttaranchal Mela, & other nearby places.

Inspiration regularly involves the participation of the Society in general. We have had officers of ICICI bank helping as volunteers.

The State Bank of India, Saharanpur Branch, has donated folding beds for the students of the Centre, in Dec’06Along with services for special children, Inspiration has been working with children in regular schools with minor difficulties.

A 6-day Fun Winter was held in the Library Hall of the famous DAV Inter- College, Karanpur. 20 students from Dehra Dun & Delhi attended the camp. ( Detailed Report follows)

On 18-19th Feb’07, a two day hands –on training Work-shop was held to train the staff & parents in Cranio-Sacral Balancing , to improve the quality of life of the children. This was conducted by Cameron Walker from Sydney, Australia, a dynamic Therapist, who was here for the workshop.

UNIQUE AUTISM/IT WORKSHOP HELD IN DEHRA DUN May ‘06

Autism is on the rise all over the world. It has been attributed to environmental factors, as well as a genetic predisposition. It is characterised by the inability of the child/person to communicate effectively, leading to a deep sense of rejection and deprivation. This has been well portrayed in Krishna Narayana’s “Wasted Talent” – Musings of an Autistic.The use of computers could be a means to channalise this frustration. Keeping this in mind, “Inspiration” agreed to collaborate with The Anil Karanjai Memorial Trust to conduct a 7-day workshop from 22-27th May’06. It was held at the Information Technology Development Agency office at Vasant Vihar, Dehra Dun. It was conducted by Dr. Arun Mehta, a well-known computer scientist, who has been working with other disabilities, particularly with visually & orthopaedically handicapped.During these 6 days, Dr. Mehta modified a few softwares to suit the needs of this group. The whole proceedings were filmed as a movie by Juliet Reynolds, Trustee, The Anil Karanjai Memorial Trust.This workshop was sponsored by the IT Dept. Uttaranchal Govt. and supported by the Social Welfare Dept. The Secretaries of both these departments visited the workshop and highly appreciated the efforts. The film-“A for Autism …M for Mouse” is complete & was released at a premiere.

PHOTO : The Film Premiere of the "A.. for Autism.. M.. For Mouse"at Madhuban Hotel. The founder Trustee of the Anil Karanjai Memorial Trust, Juliet Reynolds, also the director of the film, speaking to people.

The Microsoft Company has done a free training of Special Educators of Inspiration &Uttaranchal State in early October. All these have been due to the pioneering efforts of the organisation. There is also a team of highly trained professionals on the Panel of Advisors.
FUN WINTER CAMP, DEC’06

A Fun Winter Camp was organised by the Inspiration Centre, Dehra Dun, to utilise the holidays in a productive manner. To promote the concept of independent living, the topics were carefully chosen to facilitate positive learning of skills which would enhance the independent skills of the special young adults.The inauguration was held on the 24th of Dec’06. The Minister for Technical Education & Transport, Sri Hira Singh Bisht was the Chief Guest for the occasion. The Principal of DAV Inter College, Dr. A.K.Srivastava, was the Guest of Honour. The students of Inspiration Centre presented a short cultural program on the occasion.The Speech Therapist, Mr. Dushyant Kushwaha, Occupational Therapist, Dr Ajay Kumar, also a lecturer in the DIRD, as well as vocational trainer, Mr Arveend Budh Singh, had come from Delhi to do the assessments for the special children in Dehra Dun. Twenty Students were registered over these 6 days.The next day, being Christmas, was celebrated with making of the Christmas tree & Santa Claus. Some of the children dressed up as Santa & entertained the participants. A Christmas Party was held in the Evening.The next 3 days was utilised in teaching & learning the different forms of food for a balanced diet, as well as the winter season.Health & hygiene was also taught to them ,as an important part of self help. All the work done by the students, were then put up for display.On the 5th day, the students were taken to the Buddha Temple in Clementown.The Closing Ceremony was held on the 30th of December. The Chief Guest was the Commissioner for Disabilities, Smt. Snehlata Agarwal. She praised the work showcased over the last few days. She also encouraged the parents to form parent associations, to work for the welfare of the special children. A number of students sang & put up a cultural show. Students from Welham Girls’ School helped as facilitators for the whole Camp.
PHOTO : The Commissioner of Disabilities, Smt Snehlata Agarwal, seen here with the special participants from Dehra Dun & Delhi.

PHOTO : Children enjoy a Song & Dance activity as recreation.