The parents and teachers meet held on July 20th at Swabodhini Thiruvanmiyur campus to discuss the child’s progress at school and find solutions to academic or behavioral problems.

The meet kicked off with the introduction of our new director, Mrs.UshaPillai. The teachers discussed individualized education and therapy plan with their respective parents. Parents were also excited to shop groceries along with their children from the mobile Swayam shop at the campus.

Dr.Avanti Prabhakar is an assistant professor at JBAS College for Women, one of the leading nutritionist with particular focus on the ‘nutritional needs for children with special needs’.

Here is the gist of the lecture by Dr.Avanti held on July 20th at Swabodhini, Thiruvamiyur campus.

People with ASD often have behavioral issues, which can affect eating habits and food choices, leading to the following health concerns.

• Limited food selection or strong food dislikes
• Not eating enough food can lead to Nutrient deficiencies (Vtamin A, Iodine, Folic acid, Ferritin, Zinc and Copper)
• Constipation caused by a child’s limited food choices.
• Medication interactions. Some stimulant medications may increase or decrease food intake
• Being overweight or underweight
• Swallowing problems, regurgitation & vomiting

Each child is unique, and hence, individualized nutritional therapy can make a big difference to children with autism.

The above issues are addressed through:

• One to one clinical assessment, intervention plan, complex capacity and consent issues with doctor or nutritionist
• Training of support staff and parents on the intervention plan and ensuring they stick to the plan.
• Making lifestyle changes for adequate physical and mental activities
• Regular Health check-up
• Avoiding or limiting the intake of foods allergy-causing foods like Gluten and Casein
• Ensuring they get adequate Vitamins, Minerals nutrients and essential fats and protein
• A balanced diet with appropriate Carbs+Fats+Protein daily

Few practical tips by Dr.Avanti:

• Variety – The higher the variety of food and meals offered, the more likelihood of a balanced healthy diet
• Insisting on breakfast
• Offer seasonal fresh fruits daily
• Boil, Shallow fry or steam instead of frying
• Protein foods should be offered twice a day. Pulses are a healthier alternative to meat and fish.
• Soups can make a nutritious light meal.
• Try to buy in whole grains than the refined ones
• Switch to Low-fat milk
• Avoid frequent consumption of foods with high-fat content
• Consider “natural” foods.
• Avoid Gluten and Casein Free if needed
• Exclude food additives and colorings as much as possible
• Cultivate and practice Tough love attitude!
• Make sure to include one food that the child will eat
• Make sure that they eat similar/ same food every day
• Do not encourage consumption of juice, milk or snacks between meals
• No bribing or rewarding with foods

Schedule of Reinforcement – DRA

Few more examples:

• Child A has problem behavior of mouthing non-food items (toys, fingers, etc) to gain sensory stimulation. Every time child A attempts to place a non-food item in her mouth, block this behavior and redirect her to a sensory chewier toy. As child places the chewy in her mouth, you provide verbal praise.
• Child B has problem behavior of elopement from the work table to escape a demand. When child B attempts to stand up at the work table, you physically prompt her to sit down and immediately hand her an “I want a break” card. When child B gives the card back to you, you provide praise and allow child B a short break.

It is not enough to redirect the child to a different behavior at random. That is not implementing a DRA technique. If the child is mouthing toys to get sensory stimulation and you block the mouthing and give the child a book to read, how does that address their sensory need? It does not. What will happen is that the child will try to mouth the book, or they will engage with it for a few seconds and then throw it down.

It also is not enough to redirect the child to a functionally similar alternative behavior with no reinforcement. While the behavior is inappropriate or maladaptive from our point of view to the child the behavior they are engaging in works, it is useful, and it is efficient. It is only to us, as clinicians and parents, that the behavior is deemed unacceptable. To bring about lasting behavior change, you must reinforce the alternative behavior and make it more appealing than the inappropriate behavior. You always want to create motivation for the child to engage in the more appropriate behavior.

A day to appreciate all parents in all parts of the world for their selfless commitment, lifelong sacrifice and hardship they undergo in raising their children. Students of Swabodhini celebrated Parents Day on July 28th, 2019. Each student, with the help of their teachers, gifted a hand-made greeting card for their parent. Retail and Culinary students had prepared ‘Sweet Kozhukattai’ as a token of love for their parents.

Students who celebrated their birthday in July are Danish Ismail, J.S.Thaarini, Ram Subramaniam, A.G.Vigneshwaran and Khaja Sheriff.

We also had students from Lotus foundation for the celebration.

Gayathri, student of Lotus Foundation celebrated her birthday with us, thereby making it extra special. Lotus foundation gifted hand-made paper bags to students who celebrated their birthdays.

Short skit based on a moral story was enacted by students followed by a dance performance and cake cutting.

Ms.Kala primary teacher at GNC Velachery in her own words shares her practical experience and the visible impact she observed in the students of Swabodhini as a result of inclusive education.

Inclusion in education at GNC encourages interaction between Students of Swabodhini and Guru Nanak school students.

Observations made by Ms.Kala that students of Swabodhini are learning

• Many new ideas from their peers
• Showing interest in new hobbies
• Communication and gestures
• To Participate in group conversations and activities (like Mushroom cultivations)
• To Eat together and share food
• To Celebrating birthdays and festivals together

Inclusive education has undoubtedly given the students of Swabodhini has given a tremendous amount of confidence. We once again thank the management of Guru Nanak College for supporting us with classrooms.

By Ms. Kala, Primary Teacher, GNC