Services and Facilities

Parental Counseling
A lot of stress is given on counseling of parents in our Centre. It is seen that once the parents come out of their negativity, it has a very strong positive effect on the child. The special child is able to improve with training & self-help skills, both in school and home. Parents are encouraged to come during school hours, and receive hands-on training in the classroom. Some parents are presently doing the care-givers course under National Trust (Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment).

Teacher Assistant Training
Inspiration has been giving training to assistants derived from the society specially from the low-income group. These assistants have proved to be a tremendous pillar of support to the organization. Most of them are also parents from the low-income group, and after training they are absorbed into a job, when there are vacancies.

Special Educational Services
'Inspiration' is a special school for children/ adults aged from 1-45 years with all levels of intellectual disability. We aim to provide a secure and supporting environment where pupils become as independent as possible through a wide and varied range of learning activities. Our special educational services start with the assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the child. An individualized educational plan is prepared. Throughput the special educational curriculum, students are encouraged to have an understanding of themselves and the world around them enabling them to become self-confident young people and to develop skills in a setting, which is both structured and caring. We also run a 6-month program for the training of care giver in the field of special education in collaboration with National Trust of India.

Speech Therapy
Mentally handicapped and children with other associated problems have delayed speech and language. They have poor neuro-motor coordination. They tend to have misarticulating, unclear speech and sentences are often short. In some cases stuttering is also seen along with mental retardation. In 'Inspiration', these children have undergone tremendous improvement with the help of speech therapist along with special educator, counselor and parents.

Early Intervention
'Inspiration' provides early intervention services to children with disability. The professionals work with this group in partnership with parents of children with special needs to help their children develop their knowledge and skills, to reach their potential. Our holistic approach builds upon the strength found in all children and families. Many of our young toddlers have been successfully integrated in the normal school set-up. It has been proven by 20 years of research that early intervention produces immediate and long term benefits for children with disabilities, their families and societies.Our early intervention programs include:

• program for children with intellectual challenges.


• Programs for children with hearing or visual impairment.


• Programs for children with autism.


• Home-based early intervention


• Assessment by professionals for different disciplines such as psychology, neurology, speech, Language pathology, occupational therapy, social work and medicine.


• Pre-school speech and language classes.


• Programs for helping the children to integrate in set-ups having child-care programs with children without disability.


• programs for developing positive partnership between home and school.


• A multi-disciplinary testing for a high risk child.


• Provides services in places that are used by or are like those used by children without disabilities.


• Provides an individualized educational plan.


• Provides licensed teachers and licensed registered therapist with you and your child.
  

Behaviour Management
We follow ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis Programme) with our autistic children. The principles of ABA are:
Individualized programs to address deficits and build-on skills.
Breaking down goals into achievable element.
A structured and consistent learning environment.
A high level of 1:1 teaching.
A positive reinforcement of correct responses.
Through our behaviour modification program, we help to remove challenging behaviour in children with ADHD, Autism, mentally challenged and learning disabilities.

Vocational Guidance & Training
At Inspiration, we assess young adult's (over 18 years) capabilities and interests. On the basis of that, the kind of vocational activity is decided upon. We give suggestions according to the mental and physical capacity of the young adult. Vocation is very important for the child/ young adult as it gainfully occupies him and also gives a sense of achievement, and provides him the necessary training and expertise for self-employment.

Pre-vocational Training
We have an advanced vocational unit for mentally handicapped and slow learner personnel. We provide vocational training to the children above the age of 16 years and prevocational training to the children between the ages of 13 to 16 years.We provide training in various trades:
paper machie making, greeting card making, painting, stitching, buttoning, rangoli making, decorating candle stand, making decorated candles,decorating and painting diyas, block printing on pillow covers, bed sheets, chunis, making wall hanging using plaster of paris and various other art and craft items.
Training of office skills is also available.
We offer many openings for the mild mentally handicapped personals depending upon the trades they are trained.
We also help in the placement of these personals in the gaining open employment, supportive employment, or employment in sheltered workshop.
We even search for the new job openings that may be possible for our students by doing ongoing research in available trades where the people without disabilities are engaged in.
As these children enter the prevocational level the academics is changed into more of functional academics.

Occupational Therapy
It is the art & science of directing man's participation in selected tasks to: restore, reinforce & enhance performance, facilitate learning of those skills & functions essential for adaptation & productivity, diminish/ correct pathology and to promote and maintain health.
In special children of Inspiration, the aim of occupational therapy has been to teach them activities of daily living like self care, feeding, dressing, toileting, communication & mobility, etc.

Remedial Tutoring
We provide remedial educational program to slow learners and children with learning disability. We prepare students for NOS through which these children can pass their Vth, VIIIth, Xth and XIIth examination. We choose subjects according to the ability and interest of each child. We provide these children immediate, structured and appropriate help. We have a special library and computing facilities for these children.

Care-givers training under National Trust
'Inspiration' is the first organization to introduce this 6-month training in Delhi. Ten care givers, male and female are now trained and providing services to the institute, as well as in some needy families. With age of the child, the parents also become stressed out, due to special needs of the young adult. So the need was felt to train a pool of care givers, who could help in such cases. The mother, being the primary care giver is the most potential person for this post. There are several mothers who have successfully completed the course in 'Inspiration'.

Trainers-training at District Level under National Trust
This one-month training under the National Trust is the 2nd level training in the care givers training scheme. 'Inspiration' took up this Level II, District Level Master Trainers Training in April'02. The inauguration was attended by approximately 45 parents who attended the lecture of Chairperson, Mrs Aloka Guha who explained the aims and objects of National Trust. The ten trainers who successfully completed this course were derived from some of the top most institutes of Delhi.

Special Olympics Training Inspiration has been giving a lot of stress on physical canalization of this sexual energy. We have trained coaches for Special Olympics and these coaches give training to the special children. Our aim in participation in Special Olympics is to provide year round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic type sports for special children and young adults. We give them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in sharing gifts, skills and friendship with their families and other Special Olympic athletics and other community.

Music & Drama Therapy
Music Therapy is the application of music to create positive changes to human behavior. Likewise Drama Therapy, through movement is able to bring about development in social, emotional, cognitive and perceptual-motor areas. Both music & drama can be non-verbal forms of communication and provides motivation for practicing other skills. They are successful media and almost everyone responds positively to some kind of music, and actions along with it.
It is particularly useful for autistic children due to its non-verbal, non-threatening nature. Music therapy is particularly effective in development and remediation of speech. 'Inspiration' has been using both these methods extensively which has proved to be very successful specially with young children, autistics and down's syndrome children.

Recreational Therapy
At 'Inspiration' recreational therapy is widely used because of its innumerable advantages like:
It helps in knowing the interest of the child.
Child brings out his/her hidden problems i.e. self-revelations (through non-directed play therapy)
It has therapeutic as it allows the child to develop relationship with the therapist in a trusting atmosphere.
Child's emotional state is assessed.
Child's behaviour in setting is noted
In recreational therapy there is extensive use of dance, music, playing with clay, colours, drama, role-modeling, games such as skating, basketball and also taek-won-do etc.

Taek-won-do Training (self defence)
Taek-won-do was introduced for the children not only as a method of" self-defence", but also a physical channelisation of their excess energy. This has given a lot of confidence in the children. The International Taek-won-do Federation has recognized our children as potentials and 15 children have received certificate from ITF in 2000.

BASIC COMPUTER TRAINING
Computers can be used with children with mentally handicapped. It can be used for improving the given areas:
SELF-HELP SKILLS - By showing each step on the computer using computer CDs, they can learn to copy the skill e.g. brushing of teeth, bathing, wearing a dress and social skills.
MOTOR SKILLS - By using the educational software's, we can develop the control of fine motor movements (using the mouse).CONCEPT FORMATION- By giving the educational programs on CDs, the child can learn the concepts of colour, shape, size, number and alphabets.
Computer can also be used as a vocation with persons with mild retardation. They can be trained to operate MS Word and make greeting cards.
They can be taught Corel Draw where they can design new designs using their creativity.
Computers can be used as a medium for communication with these children. They can be taught to use how to chat using any messenger. These children are not able to communicate while they face each other, but through computer they can communicate easily.
Software's could also be used as an assistive device in speech therapy sessions.
Computers can be used for communicating with the parents. Parents can Contact Us through e-mails with us and ask specific questions related to particular problems.

Open School Training
Open School system is very helpful for the mentally challenged children. 'Inspiration' is the only school in Delhi who train slow-learners for the Open School Examination. One of our students has scored 63% in Computers, which is an excellent achievement for an intellectually challenged child. Presently, several students of 'Inspiration' are preparing for NOS exam.

About Inspiration

Aims and Objectives

• To establish, operate & manage centres/schools for mentally deficient children, persons and slow learners.
• To eliminate the superstitious beliefs and stigmas attached to the mentally retarded persons so that they be rehabilitated in society.
• To develop awareness in youth about the hazards and reasons which may lead to mental retardation, to encourage investigation of the causes of mental retardation and promote preventive and remedial measures.
• To promote pre-vocational and vocational training, sheltered workshops and employment facilities for the mentally retarded.
• To encourage the establishment of integrated set-ups and centres for “learning disabled children” and ultimately setting up a whole village for the mentally retarded where they can have their own facilities like schools, post office, banks etc.

Principles and Background

• 'Inspiration' believes that every human being should be viewed from a humanitarian angle, having the right to live a life of dignity, in the least restrictive environment, with a right to make his/her own choices and participate actively in decision making.
• ‘Inspiration’ aims at upliftment of the poor & oppressed, the destitute and the neglected and those who have been gravely psychologically affected by the tensions of modern life. Their rehabilitation and bringing them back to mainstream of life is our target.
  We aim to educate parents and families of the disabled in providing an encouraging, nurturing environment for the disabled children, their brothers and sisters.
• For this we have done a number of programmes to create awareness among the public, on the causes of developmental disability and possible preventive measures, thus undermining superstitions and a mis-guided religious mindset, and to consequently building a scientific outlook on the problem.
• Focusing on undesirable attitude and rejection of the disabled, is part of our advocacy work.

Future Plans

• With the introduction of NATIONAL TRUST ACT and the establishment of fully functional NATIONAL TRUST, Inspiration aims at establishment of the RESPITE CARE AND RECREATIONAL CENTRE, which is the prime need of parents and children. Our target is to provide quality services, especially for those in society belonging to the low-income group who are generally refused services in other schools. Inspiration has not only been working with the special child in isolation. It has targeted on “Empowerment of the Mother”, or the women of the house. It is generally seen, that in a society where the women are suppressed , it has a strong and negative repercussion on the child; doubly so, if that child is one with special needs. So to ensure the rehabilitation of the special children, INSPIRATION has gone one step ahead in training and sensitization of the parents and the siblings.
• The need to develop the “Group Living” concept has already been felt, and INSPIRATION has started the Respite Care for this purpose. The need to address the problem of “What will happen, when we are no more” has been often discussed in seminars and workshops, but no concrete step has yet been taken up by any organization. This problem has to be addressed, specially so, when we address challenging problems such as in autistics, multiple handicaps and other associated problems.
• Inspiration’s future plans are to address the specific problem in bringing together the families in small groups, where the age and specific needs of the children could be similar, so that the experiences of the mother/parent could be a strong support to another needy families.
• A Group Home is proposed to be established in Dehra Dun shortly, where training of special children will be trained along with parents, according to different packages.. & different time frames according to need/choice of families.

The Genesis

"Prerana Special School" was started on 1st July, 1995 in a small apartment in Vikas Puri, which immediately started advocacy work in the community, building community support and strengthening hope & determination in families with disabled children. For this, we personally make visits to such families, to give them support in all possible ways. We attend various seminars, or smaller gatherings to discuss causes and possible prevention of such cases. We seek to identify people from the community to work with the children.
The organization INSPIRATION now registered and enjoying tax exemption under Section 80 G of Income Tax Act was formed later in 1996. Meeting parents with disabled children living in other parts of Delhi, we met with a need to spread, at their invitation, our advocacy efforts to other areas in the city. Delhi University, Central Institute of Education, NIMH and other institutions has been covered in Inspiration's advocacy campaigns. Inspiration was allotted space in the Community Facility Complex, Slum & JJ Dept., MCD, at 12 Block Tilak Nagar, where the Centre has been running since Oct.'98.
There are 70 students at present whose ages range from 3 years-45 years. They fall under the categories of:
Autistics
Spastics
Multiple Handicapped
a: Mild
b: Moderate
c: Severe
Slow learners