kids with special needs Archives -

Gift Your Sibling A Bliss In A Box This Rakhi

Gift Your Sibling A Bliss In A Box This Rakhi

“It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”
― Mother Teresa

One is outgoing, the other shy. One is talkative, the other reserved. One is dominating, the other submissive. But they accept each other despite these differences, and share the warmest equation. Truly, there’s nothing quite like a sibling bond.

Rakshabandhan celebrates that unbreakable promise of togetherness. And a rakhi is that thread of love that binds brothers and sisters for life. What’s more? Family get togethers, sweets, gifts, happiness and celebrations – all of it and more weave magical moments that we cherish as memories for a lifetime.

Gifts, being an integral part of any celebration, need to be special and thoughtful. Special occasions like Rakshabandhan call for exclusive gifts and unique packing. At MBCN, children with special needs have made that effort for you, out of pure love and affection. One look at these, and you’ll realise they have poured their hearts out while crafting extraordinary gift boxes for your siblings.

Sneak a peek at what our kids with special needs have made for you with love:

Royal box for your royal brother. Planning to gift him a wrist watch? Nothing could be better than this unique blue box, embellished with stones and beads to carry your love for him.

MBCN Raksha Bandhan

Rakhi is synonymous with giving cash to your sister. Here’s a beautiful red-golden case for her to collect money for your birthday gift.

MBCN Raksha Bandhan

Making chocolates for your brother? Gift him a lot of them in all his favourite flavours, in this special box.

MBCN Raksha Bandhan

This one’s for your sister’s love for bangles. A box as exquisite as this would just make her day.

MBCN Raksha Bandhan

A busy schedule might make it a little difficult for you to add an emotional touch to the gifts for your loved ones. Our kids at MBCN fill that gap for you, and happily so! These are not just gift boxes, but love-coated expressions that must be acknowledged and appreciated. And by investing in these, you’re contributing to the happiness of these children.

Want to check out all that these kids with special needs have made for you? Take a look here: https://www.mbcnschool.org/shop-online

Mind Over Matter

Mind Over Matter

Parenthood has its own set of challenges, but when it comes to being a parent to a child with special needs has its own set of unique challenges. Though it is easier said than done that with a specially-abled child be supportive, keep no expectations and take each day as it comes. Each day has newer challenges and even unique ways to meet them.

No matter what type of disability your child has – moderate or severe – you want to make sure that she is receiving the best opportunities possible. Though they deserve customised learning techniques, many in our society understand that but seldom do such children get the much needed motivation.

They may feel like they aren’t being challenged enough, or they may feel as if they simply can’t achieve the goals that are set forth for them just because of their disability. This lack of motivation can have a huge impact on their education. It’s all up there, if it’s in their that they cannot do it, nothing else can push them towards it!

Here are some and fun and realistic strategies, you can create a special education timeline that will help your special needs child achieve and succeed in her educational endeavors:

Help Them Focus:

Get involved in their day-to-day education schedule. Instill them with newer aspirations each day and make them aware of the possibilities they have. Once you can gauge their interest,  help to chalk out a stronger plan in that direction with courses to study and places to enroll. When they see someone so interested in their life and career, they will feel all the more motivated.

Discuss Goals:

Communicate more and more with such children. They should know you expect them to fly higher, however, be careful as you don’t want to pressure them or make them feel obligated to do something. But, carefully make them understand that you are also connected and hope for bigger and better things for them to achieve the goals.

Be a Guide:

Stress is the last thing you want the child to suffer with. Be their coach, a friend and guide. Cheer them, scold them wherever necessary, like any other normal child. Let them know that they are doing a good job and you are there to hold their back, incase they fall.

Be her support system, as this can make an already unmotivated child even less motivated.

Give Rewards:

Rewarding means a lot in these foundation years of your special child. Carefully choose rewards that are beneficial. Don’t offer something superficial or out of bounds for achieving a goal and rather take something that will further benefit them. For example, if she achieves her goal of getting a specific grade on a history test, reward her with a trip to a museum so she can have a first-hand experience with the history she learnt.

Make Sure it’s Fun:

Monotonous and mundane ways of doing work can be highly demotivating.

Try to make tasks as fun, constructive and enjoyable as possible.

If the specially abled children around you is suffering from a lack of motivation, employing these techniques will help to ignite the fire in their desires to achieve and succeed and help them outshine their own image of themselves, as it all in the mind. Let’s help them move MIND OVER MATTER!

Rights of Persons With Disabilities Bill: More power to PwD

Rights of Persons With Disabilities Bill: More power to PwD

Human Rights are for us all, but seldom do we see our society uphold these rights without any social or political bias. In that regard, the ‘Rights for Persons with Disabilities Bill’ has indeed come a long way, now amended and shaped to herald a more accommodating future.

Rights of Persons With Disabilities (RPWD) Bill:
The principal act for the empowerment of Persons with disabilities was the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. It was enforced 20 years back. In the years that followed, however, there have been drastic changes in the disability sector such as understanding disability and its social model of definition, new technology and process of rehabilitation etc.

The new Bill with amendments proposes to repeal the existing Persons with Disabilities (Equal opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.

The revised bill has come as a boon for many. With the types of disabilities having been increased from 7 to 21, and the Central Government holding the power to add more types in the future, the bill is a much-awaited move to effectuate the Indian government’s ‘Accessible India’ program.

The historic announcement was made on the occasion of ‘International Day of Persons with Disabilities’ (3rd December). It saw the first-time inclusion of speech and language disability and specific learning disability, while acid attack victims, dwarfism, muscular dystrophy etc. were added as separate classes of specified disability. The new categories of disabilities also included three blood disorders: thalassemia, hemophilia and sickle cell disease.

This bill also provides for penalties for offences committed against persons with disabilities. Designated special courts have been proposed to handle cases concerning violation of rights of PwDs, thus accommodating the long-pending concern of whether or not we legally cover all types of disabilities.

Further, additional benefits for persons with benchmark disabilities and those with high support needs have been included. For instance, every child with benchmark disability between the age group of 6 and 18 years shall have the right to free education, while reservations in government jobs for certain persons or class of persons with benchmark disability have been increased from 3% to 4%. To provide financial support to the persons with disabilities, the creation of National and State Funds has been proposed. The need to ensure accessibility in public buildings in a prescribed time-frame has also been stressed upon.

Another highlight from the bill is that it provides penalties for offences committed against persons with disabilities. To handle cases concerning violation of rights of PwDs, the bill proposes the immediate designation of special courts.

This bill has given rise to expectations that it will be adopted at all institutions and public or private bodies in India at both national and state levels to achieve true empowerment and inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in a satisfactory manner.

Fulfil Special Needs with Rehabilitation Therapies

Fulfil Special Needs with Rehabilitation Therapies

1.67 percent of the Indian population in the 0-19 age group suffers from one disability or the other. For differently-abled, there is a constant need to try to fit into the society as they go through several physical and mental limitations. It is when rehabilitation therapies come into picture to alleviate the whole situation. The therapies offer a kind of therapeutic education to teach them a way of life.

Only a Special Art Can Heal
Rehabilitation therapies are not just plain therapies but art being used for healing so these special children get ready to accept the challenges in life. Experts believe that the combination of forms of art creates an atmosphere that allows the physically and mentally impaired children to realise their special abilities and feel empowered. You must have heard of the wheelchair-bound performers who brilliantly absorbed the fast dance steps and regaled the audience at India’s Got Talent.
Healing starts the moment we combine the rich traditions of music, dance and yoga. Many times formal education becomes a fun-filled learning experience when chapters of English and Social Science are taught over musical beats, activities and games. Come to Mata Bhagwanti Chadha Niketan (MBCN), a charitable school for children with special needs and you may feel the difference.

Integrate Your Senses Quick
Visit the sensory integration therapy room at MBCN and you can watch these kids crawling on floors, picking up colourful plastic balls and collecting them in a basket. They are actually trying to improve their motor skills and colour coordination through a fun activity. As far as the sensory integration is concerned, the therapy is directed at the autistic individuals who are hyposensitive or hypersensitive to noise, light or touch.
The sensory differences are actually a result from a sensory processing disorder that can only be treated through regulating a person’s sensory response. After-effects are quite visible in the positive changes like improved behaviour, better focus and lowered anxiety.

Regain Co-ordination and Strength Through Occupational Therapy
Climb up the stairs to move towards the occupational therapy room where you can find a child indulging in a lower limb strengthening exercise wearing orthopaedic leg braces. You may find a teacher engaging a student in catch and throw sessions while the kid tries to balance himself on a wobble board. The activity treats those affected with autism by improving balance and visual motor co-ordination.
Other than these, the occupational therapists at MBCN mainly follow an adaptive approach in chalking out measures to reduce dependence of autistic kids on others. The arrangement is made because many of them are not able to perform the basic tasks on their own in everyday life.

Learn Yoga from the Differently-abled at MBCN

Learn Yoga from the Differently-abled at MBCN

We have talked about several interventions and rehabilitation methods to empower the differently-abled and integrate them with the mainstream. But, all talks of offering special education and treatment therapies may turn futile if learning is not made fun for children. It is believed that our senses are able to grasp more if the lessons are interesting, and are imparted through visuals. And, for education with entertainment, the best way to teach is through the extra-curricular activities.

Yoga is not just an extracurricular activity but a therapy that addresses the learning and developmental limitations in people with special needs. It is generally used for addressing such challenges like Autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Sensory Processing Disorders. This therapy has several physiological, cognitive, socio-emotional and sensory-motor benefits.

At Mata Bhagwanti Chadha Niketan (MBCN), our charitable school for children with special needs, kids are taught through experiential learning to apply-

  • BREATH in improving self-control, modulation and supporting respiration for better language
  • MOVEMENT to enhance motor planning, balance, strength, co-ordination and flexibility
  • RELAXATION to de-stress and gain an attentive mind

Yoga offers therapeutic variations that go hand-in-hand with physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy to address specific disorders.

It demonstrates poses, breathing techniques and meditation to facilitate attention, relaxation and focus.

Read further about Yoga exercises for the union of body, mind and spirit.

Anulom Vilom Pranayam

It follows an alternate nostril breathing method. Close your nostrils alternatively through second and third fingers as well as the right hand thumb. Keep your palm in front of the face but above nose to breathe freely through nostrils. The exercise keeps us calm, and enhances memory and concentration. It is effective in ADHD.

Bhramri Pranayam

It involves breathing exercise while making a sound like buzzing bumblebee. It is effective in soothing nerves when facing behavioural problems like anxiety and restlessness. Invariably, it helps increase attention span, motor co-ordination and the capacity of learning and acting on instructions. This works wonders to cure ADHD and enable sensory processing in autistic kids.

Meditation

It is mostly effective in curing ADHD by enhancing concentration.

Chakrasana

Lie down on back while your feet are apart. Now, bend your knees and let your feet fell flat on the ground. Then, bring your palms under the shoulders with fingers pointing towards them. Thereafter, lift your head and shoulders off the floor while straightening your arms. Your body must look like a semi-circular arch. This is Chakrasana, the wheel pose that improves the body stance.

Dhanurasana

Dhanurasana has the same purpose. For this, you need to pose like a bow.

Sarvangasana

Sarvangasana is the shoulder stand pose which improves the circulation of blood and oxygen through our brain.

Yoga contributes a lot as a therapy for both physical and mental well-being of a differently-abled person. But, it is equally beneficial for all who go through slightest of the behavioural issues – anger, depression, anxiety.