Dear Reader,

The festive season has gone by and as usual we did not miss any chance for celebrating – be it Krishna Janmashtami, Diwali or the usual birthday celebrations. The energy, air of expectation amongst our students is seen to be believed. In this edition of our newsletter we have also covered an important topic – that of temperature insensitivity – how it affects individuals with ASD. We have touched upon how Visual learning techniques are an effective way of learning. All of us have different learning mechanisms – be it by reading (sometimes over and over again), observing how others do things, questioning the topic’s application, buddying/shadowing but as Confucius said – I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand. With our students Visual learning is the key.

Our endeavor to provide quality learning to students at Swabodhini would not have been possible without the generous, thoughtful and kind sponsorships from our sponsors. We are very thankful to them.

With regards
Usha Pillai
Director

Whereas children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders have issues in sensory processing integration, thereby suffer sensory processing disorder relating to temperature regulation. The person with Autism may not be able to adapt to changing temperatures adequately, or may not feel temperatures the same way an average person without Autism, does. For example, those children with such sensory difficulties may feel hot while others feel cold. They may exhibit hyper or hypo sensitivities to heat and cold if their environment temperature is not constant.

Heat intolerance is prevalent with children in warmer cities like Chennai. Heat intolerance is the feeling of being overheated when the temperature around you rises even slightly.

Common symptoms of heat intolerance among special needs children:

• Feeling very hot in moderately warm temperatures
• Excessive Sweating
• Not sweating enough in the heat
• Exhaustion and fatigue
• Nausea, vomiting, or dizziness in response to heat
• Mood swings and behavioral issue
• Feeling stressful
• Attention-deficit
• Meltdown and emotional distress
• Exhibit poor eating habits and loss of appetite
• Lack of sleep and insomnia

Studies suggest that exposure to varying temperatures cause a disturbance in circadian rhythms which affects several bodily functions, growth hormones, sleep-wake cycle, thirst, eating patterns, hormone production and cell regeneration.

Importance of Air Conditioners:

When exposed to high temperatures, the brain stops concentrating becoming increasingly difficult for them to learn in a hot room. Also, many of my students take medications; they get tired more easily and feel sleepy in the warm room. The brain works best only at a comfortable temperature. A lot of time gets wasted in calming students with heat sensitivity during school hours. Air conditioning in classrooms creates a stable temperature and better air quality. It filters the air and clears toxins from the environment providing better health for students and staff. By providing a classroom with optimum temperature, we can expect the best outcome and improvement from students.

Air conditioning benefits everyone’.Raising awareness about ASD is essential to change attitudes towards it. Professionals involved in health, social services, education and employment must be able to recognize these issues and come forward to help these children.

Swabodhini strives to create an impact in the lives of these special children. We are happy to accept air conditions as donations for our classrooms. Your contribution towards this goal will not go to waste and will create a meaningful impact in the lives of exceptional children.

Sensorial Exercises were designed to cover quality that can be perceived by the senses such as size, shape, composition, texture, loudness or softness, matching, weight, temperature, etc. Because the exercises cover such a wide range of senses, these are categorized into groups such as Visual, Baric, Thermic, Auditory, Olfactory, Gustatory, and Stereognostic.

The Montessori environment contains specially designed, manipulative “materials for development” that invite children to engage in learning activities of their individual choice. Under the guidance of a trained teacher, children in a Montessori classroom learn by making discoveries with the materials, cultivating concentration, motivation, self-discipline, and a love for learning.

The Montessori method uses the term “sensitive period ” to describe the critical learning phase during which a child ‘s developing brain is ready to learn a specific concept or skill. During these sensitive periods, the child learns quickly and eagerly. They repeat and repeat the same lesson until they decide they have finished. By this learning process, the child is letting us know their interests and abilities. Besides, the inner need to learn children also have an intrinsic need for some order or in other words, structure and when not met is likely to become disruptive and unruly.

Montessori materials help children to satisfy their sensorial need. Sensorial comes from the word senses or sense. The purpose and aim of sensorial work are for the child to acquire clear, conscious, information and to be able to then make classifications in the environment. Through this classification, the child is also offered the first steps in organizing his intelligence, which then leads to his adapting to his environment.

Mrs. Lakshmi Prabha

Thank You!