Open School and learning Centre

Executive Skills

&

Your Child

LOOK INSIDE

Chairman’s Column

Executive Skills and Your Child

The miraculous Lazy 8

What Can Be Done for A Child’s Short Attention

Span?

Helping Kids Who Struggle With Executive

Functions

Question & Answer

Language Skill Activities for Special Need Chil-

dren

School Refusal

www.helikxopenschool.org

Volume 1 | Issue 6

JUNE 2014

An Official Newsletter of

1 NEWSLETTER | JUNE 2014

BRIDGE THE G A P

Chairman’s Column

T here are so many terms in Eng-

lish which directly implies some-

thing and indirectly points out to

something else. The term ‘Executive

skills’ is also one such word. It mean

different to diverse categories of people.

If you type “executive skills” into your

favorite search engine, you’ll get hun-

dreds of hints. It’s an unfortunate term,

in a way, because it sounds like a class

for budding CEOs. Think of it as an um-

brella category for the set of mental

processes that your child with learning

disabilities probably struggles with, the

skills that can have a serious and even

profound impact on school success.

Executive skills develop gradually and at

different rates for different people. Most

children struggle at one time or another

with planning, organization and follow-

through. Some will, through maturation,

good teaching and trial and error, inde-

pendently figure out ways to overcome

or compensate for their executive skills

weaknesses.

Parents, in partnership with schools, can

be enormously helpful in the improve-

ment of children’s executive skills. Keep

in mind, however, that there aren’t “one-

size-fits-all” strategies for improving

these skills. Because each child is on a

slightly different developmental path

and each child’s brain-based habits of

thought will have varying strengths and

weaknesses, you’ll need to work with

your child’s teacher to personalize strat-

egies that will best address your child’s

needs. Directly teaching your child these

skills, offering frequent reassurance and

giving clear, specific feedback are all

essential.

This issue of Bridge the Gap focuses on

need of using Executive skills of chil-

dren. Our school was able to bring re-

sults by implementing this model. Exec-

utive skill teaching model has substan-

tially energized the schools teaching

strategies and its outcomes.

Mr. G. Senthilkumar

Dear Readers,

'KNOWLEDGE has to transform in to skill which in turn into ACTION' that is the

purpose of Education.

Can these three aspects be balanced in our education system?

Is our current teaching method helps in reaching this goal?

Always these questions haunt every management and teaching community.

Through this newsletter we try to address some of the key issues which will help

the schools to address from different perspective.

Need for school counselling department and Helikx ARC( assessment, remedial,

counselling) centre in all schools is our focus for the upcoming months.

We are organising seminars and workshop on the above mentioned topics every

month. Hope your participation and feed back will encourage our young team.

Thanks for the continuous support rendered to us.

Executive Skills and

Your Child

EDITORIAL

ALEN KURIAKOSE

Trainer, HSSW

Building

Democracy in Schools

2 NEWSLETTER | JUNE 2014

BRIDGE THE G A P BRIDGE THE G A P

T he educational kinesiology believes that lazy eight

is one of the most effective tool to use n the class-

room to enhance reading and writing. This has

been proved by many studies conducted by brain

gym practitioners. Doing Lazy 8 will help children overcome

difficulties in reading, retain what they read and also help to

improve penmanship.

"The lazy 8 movement helps us find the exact center of our left

and right fields and how they joined to become the overlapping

midfield - one single field of attention. This is the bilateral mid-

field where information processing best takes place." says Dr.

Paul Dennison. He also shared how one of the brain gym stu-

dent (Jared) benefitted from doing lazy 8 for a short while.

Jared is a 8 year old boy studying in third grade, he was read-

ing too slowly to keep up with his daily assignments and also

frequently complained that he feels tired and/or his eyes both-

er him. After evaluating him Dr. Paul Dennison noted that his

midline is not aligned in the center.

Now a days many young children have very good speech and

language skills but their visual stress inhibits reading. Experts

also say that eye muscle moves as much as 10,000 times an

hour of reading, trying to refocus effectively to input infor-

mation without backtracking. "when the two eyes don't point

together as they cross the midline from left to right visual field,

it will be easier to

avoid the midline than to work in the midfield"

says Dr. Paul Dennison.

The body's vertical (lateral) midline is de-

scribed as a specific anatomical plane that

runs through the navel, sternum, neck and

center of the head. Dr. Paul Dennison says, "I

find that when learners know how to function

in terms of this midline, they experience de-

finitive left, right and middle visual (and audi-

tory) fields."

After a short experience of doing lazy 8 starting in the mid-

field, Jared turned around and said, "Wow. The room just got

bigger." Dr. Paul Dennison laughed and said when we get our

eyes working together as a team , we "switch on" and we see

more than what we did before.

Reference:

How to do Lazy 8 ?

Move your eyes slowly from left to right in a horizontal

line and back again for three times. Noticing the state

of relaxation of your eyes.

Hold your thumb at eye level in the midfield, start

drawing a large 8 lying on its side in the air in front of

you. starting in the middle moving to your left in anti

clockwise direction-going up, over and round. moving

further to the right side in clockwise direction in the

same pattern. do three time and then switch to other

hand and do three more times and finally finish by

holding both thumbs together and do three time.

Now follow your eyes slowly from left to right in a hor-

izontal line and back again for three times, noticing

the state of relaxation of your eyes.

The Miraculous Lazy 8

BY MURUGALAKSHMI THIRUMALAI

HEAD TEACHER, CENTERRA RANCH MONTESSORI SCHOOL, KATY, TEXAS

Begins !

BRAIN GYM

W hether a child has been

diagnosed with ADD

(attention deficit disor-

der) or just has a hard

time with inattention and distractibility,

life at school and at home can be pretty

challenging. Adults, who respect and

allow for this child’s special needs can

help the child’s life run more smoothly

and with less stress.

Children want to please their parents

and teachers and will be as attentive as

they are can be at the moment. Howev-

er, children with a short attention span

are often criticized and punished for

their inattention and resulting mistakes,

which can be lead to unnecessary feel-

ings of shame, depression and resent-

ment. If you find your child’s inattentive

behavior to be annoying or detrimental

to the child, the following suggestions

can be helpful.

Look your child in the eye, when

giving instructions. Giveonly one or

two directions at a time. Ask your

child to review aloud what you said

to check for misunderstanding and

to assist your child’s memory.

Establish a daily routine with meals,

family activities and bedtime sched-

uled at the same time every day.

Routines are very important for

those with a short attention span.

Give your distractible child a specific

time and place to do homework away

from noise (TV, people talking) and

sights (toys, active people). Equip

the space with paper and pencils. If

there is no homework, have your

child do leisure reading.

Keep study time for any subject short

– 10 to 15 minutes. Move to another

subject and then go back to the

first. Give breaks to move around,

do jumping jacks, and get a drink.

Boredom comes quickly with these

kids.

Use a timer for homework, bedtime,

stopping play and getting ready ac-

tivities. A timer helps children stick

to their task and to speed up their

efforts.

Have family meetings to allow every-

one to set discuss and set rules for

chores and returning problems. Set

up consequences that fit the situa-

tion if the rules are not followed in

make a list of consequences from

which the child can choose at the

time of the error. Children feel moti-

vated to follow rules they help set.

Point out positive behavior frequent-

ly- “I noticed that you waited pa-

tiently to talk to me, while I was

speaking to your brother”, “ I saw

you pick up your toys as soon as I

asked you!” You can celebrate by

giving your child a high five, a hug,

or a treat – “That deserves a high

five”.

Avoid blame and ridicule for mis-

takes or broken rules. They crush a

child’s spirit. Ignore little mistakes.

Have a two-way discussion about

bigger issues. 1) Tell your child

something positive you have no-

ticed; 2) State without shaming the

problem you noticed. 3) Ask what

your child noticed, and listen; 4) Ask

what can be done about the problem

and listen; 5) Add your ideas if nec-

essary; 6) Both of you agree on a

solution or consequence.

Agree on chores that your child can

do daily that are age appropriate.

Even very young children can help

set the table for meals and clear a

few things. Children feel good about

helping, and fidgety children need

to move.

Give your child positive time with

you each day. Look at family photos

and talk about happy times. Read

aloud at bedtime, sing songs, play

games, bake, do activities outdoors

or pretend with your child.

Keep TV, computer and video game

time short. Research shows that

these activities create attention

problems.

Look into auditory training with spe-

cially modified music to improve

your child’s attention span. The mu-

sic stimulates the area of the brain

that helps people concentrate and

have a longer attention span. It also

fosters improvements in listening

ability, thinking, memory, academic

learning, reading, social skills,

mood, sensory integration and com-

munication skills.

3 NEWSLETTER | JUNE 2014

BRIDGE THE G A P

Trustee

Helikx

Open

By Mrs. RAJALAKSHMI

What Can Be Done for A Child’s Short Attention Span?

BRIDGE THE G A P

VERBATIM

4 NEWSLETTER | JUNE 2014

BRIDGE THE G A P BRIDGE THE G A P

@ media

Our Chairman G Senthilkumar’s Interview in

“ Thannambikkai” July issue

BRIDGE THE G A P BRIDGE THE G A P

MAILBOX YOUR COMMENTS

Received a copy of newsletter. I would

like to say it is really very attractive, con-

tains potentially good content and nicely

crafted.

Taranum

Principal

Elia Sarwat English High School

Thanks for this informative newsletter.

Will get this across to many more.

We will collaborate & keep in touch with

you.

Shyamala Rao, Ramjas Pusa Road, New

Delhi

Thank you for sharing the newsletter.

Which is veryful useful for people who

are working in the field special education.

Logesh kumar S.

Asst. Prof. in Special Education , Faculty

of Disability Management and Special

Education

TALKBACK Submissions to Bridge the Gap should include the

writer’s name and address and be sent by mail to

the alenkuriakose@helikx.com or by mail to Helikx

School Social Work And Research Department

149, Alamelu Nagar, Pagalpatty, Muthunaicken

patty Road, Salem - 636304. +91-9842733318

T he first time you

hear that your 7-

year-old son is

weak in "executive

functions" it sounds like a

joke. No kidding—that's why

he's a first-grader, not a CEO.

But executive functions are

the essential self-regulating

skills that we all use every day

to accomplish just about eve-

rything. They help us plan,

organize, make decisions,

shift between situations or

thoughts, control our emo-

tions and impulsivity, and

learn from past mistakes. Kids

rely on their executive func-

tions for everything from tak-

ing a shower to packing a

backpack and picking priori-

ties.

Children who have poor exec-

utive functioning, including

many with ADHD, are more

disorganized than other kids.

They might take an extraordi-

narily long time to get dressed

or become overwhelmed while

doing simple chores around

the house. Schoolwork can

become a nightmare because

they regularly loose papers or

start weeklong assignments

the night before they are due.

Learning specialists have de-

vised ways to bolster the or-

ganizational skills that don't

come naturally a child with

poor executive functioning.

They teach a mix of specific

strategies and alternative

learning styles that compli-

ment or enhance a child's par-

ticular abilities. Here are

some of the tools they teach

kids—and parents—to help

them tackle school work as

well as other responsibilities

that take organization and

follow-through.

Checklists

The steps necessary for com-

pleting a task often aren't

obvious to kids with executive

dysfunction, and defining

them clearly ahead of time

makes a task less daunting

and more achievable. Follow-

ing a checklist of steps also

minimizes the mental and

emotional strain many kids

with executive dysfunction

experience while trying to

make decisions.

Set Time Limits

When making a checklist,

many educational therapists

also recommend assigning a

time limit for each step, par-

ticularly if it is a bigger, long-

er-term project.

Use That Planner

Educational specialists also

highlight the cardinal im-

portance of using a planner.

Kids who struggle with execu-

tive functioning have poor

working memory, which

means it is hard for them to

remember things like home-

work assignments. And work-

ing memory issues tend to

snowball.

Spell out the Rationale

While a child is learning new

skills, it is essential that he

understand the rationale be-

hind them, or things like plan-

ning might feel like a waste of

time or needless energy

drain. Kids with poor organ-

izational skills often feel

pressured by their time

commitments and responsi-

bilities, and can be very

averse to delay. "It's almost

like they're making neuro

economical decisions,"

Explore Different Ways of

Learning

Because everyone learns

differently, educational spe-

cialists like Mara Ravitz, MA,

one of the founders of the

learning company Smarten

Up, advocate using a variety

of strategies to help kids with

executive dysfunction under-

stand—and remember—

important concepts. Using

graphic organizers as a refer-

ence for visual learners is one

such example.

Establish a Routine

This is particularly

important for older

kids, who typically

struggle more to

get started with

their homework.

Educational special-

ists recommend

starting homework

at the same time

every day. Expect

some resistance

from older kids,

who often prefer to

wait until they feel

like doing their

work.

Use Rewards

Younger kids need

external motivators

to highlight the

value of these new

strategies. Some-

thing like a star

chart, where kids

see the connection be-

tween practicing their

skills and working to-

wards a reward, works very

well. It's also a good way to

communicate to kids that

their parents and their teach-

er also value this skill." For

older kids who aren't as moti-

vated by things like rewards,

parents should still be encour-

aging. things is easy."

Developing new strategies for

learning isn't easy either. Ini-

tially, it can put kids who are

already self-conscious even

further outside their comfort

zone, but it's worth the effort.

We use our organizational

skills every day in a million

ways, and they are essential

to our success in school and

later as adults. Refer-

ance:http:www.childmind.org/

en/posts/articles/2012-8-20-

helping-kids-executive-

functions-organization

BRIDGE THE G A P

5 NEWSLETTER | JUNE 2014

TWO DAY

ORIENTATION COURSE FOR FIRST YEAR

MSW

PROFESSIONALS

Helikx School Social Work And Research Department

149, Alamelu Nagar, Pagalpatty, Muthunaicken patty

Road, Salem - 636304. +91-9842733318

|info@helikx.com|www.helikx.com

BRIDGE THE G A P

Helping Kids Who Struggle With Executive Functions

Intro to Professional Social Work

Practice– Scope & Objective

Opting for Specialization

Fields and Perspectives

Skills needed for a Social Worker

Field and Block Placements

MODULE

BRIDGE THE G A P BRIDGE THE G A P

What is the meaning of multi-

ple intelligences? The concept of one intelligence

quotient is getting outdated as

people now believe there is no

one figure that can indicate a

person‟s intelligence level.

Howard Gardener from Harvard Uni-

versity believes that people could have

8 kinds of intelligences -

• verbal intelligence

• logico-mathematical intelligence

• visuo -spatial intelligence

• bodily kinesthetic

• musical

• interpersonal

• intra personal and

• naturalistic

Children could possess more than one of

the kinds of intelligences mentioned

above. The lesson can be represented

and taught using at least 3 of these intel-

ligences so that it reaches the whole

class.

What are

learning

styles and

how can

they help

these chil-

dren?

Every per-

son has a

preferred

style of

learning.

There are

mainly

three types

of learners -

visual, audi-

tory and

kinesthetic

learners.

• A visual

learner

needs to see

to under-

stand the

concepts

better.

• Auditory

learner

learns

through lis-

tening.

• Kinesthet-

ic learner is

the one who

MRS. DEVIPRIYA SENTHILKUMAR,

Secretary, Helikx Open School

Language Skill Activities for

Special Needs Children

— Mrs. P.V Anan-thalakshmi, Principal,

Helikx Open School

W hen develop-

ing activities

for special

needs chil-

dren, an important skill to work

on is language development and

improvement. Daily activities that help improve lan-

guage skills are necessary for all special needs children,

especially when they are young. Working on language

skill activities for special needs children can be the most

challenging and frustrating, so be sure to pick activities

that are fun, too.

Memory Match

Start with only a few picture cards to match. Then let

them say the name of the picture on the card each time

they flip it over. Then gradually add more cards and re-

place the pictures with simple words, like ball,

mat” This skill can be slowly converted to writing by

asking to write the names.

Play the game only for a short period. While playing

memory games use only limited cards or it will lead to

frustration.

Feelings and Colors

We can introduce emotions with the help of different

colors. It is better to begin with simple emotions, such

as “happy,” “sad,” “afraid,” and “angry.” Use different

colors to express the various emotions. Simple drawings,

clippings from magazine can be used to put the faces in

the right color spot

Slowly add more emotions and colors. Let the child show

the feelings through facial, nonverbal communication.

This activity is one of the greatest for special needs chil-

dren because several special needs children struggle

with non-verbal communication, as well as how to identi-

fy emotions and non-verbal communication cues from

others. This activity can be frustrating at first since it

takes practice and time for the child to develop their

language skills.

Activities for special needs children are a fun way to in-

teract with the child, as well as to help them develop

mentally. Simple board games, such as snake and Lad-

ders help to develop a child’s language skills.

While it can be frustrating to work on language skills

with the child, the results do pay off after many months

of continued practice.

6 NEWSLETTER | JUNE 2014

BRIDGE THE G A P BRIDGE THE G A P

What is the meaning of multiple

intelligences?

The concept of one intelligence

quotient is getting outdated as

people now believe there is no

one figure that can indicate a

person‟s intelligence level.

Howard Gardener from Har-

vard University believes that

people could have 8 kinds of

intelligences -

verbal intelligence

Logico-mathematical intel-

ligence

visuo -spatial intelligence

bodily kinesthetic

musical

interpersonal

intra personal and

naturalistic

Children could possess more

than one of the kinds of intelli-

gences mentioned above. The

lesson can be represented and

taught using at least 3 of these

intelligences so that it reaches

the whole class.

What are learning styles and

how can they help these chil-

dren?

Every person has a preferred

style of learning. There are

mainly three types of learners -

visual, auditory and kinesthetic

learners.

• A visual learner needs to see

to understand the concepts

better.

• Auditory learner learns

through listening.

• Kinesthetic learner is the one

who learns when he actually

carries out a physical activity

rather than to listen to a lec-

ture or merely watch a demon-

stration. For them doing leads

to the understanding of con-

cept.

Using all learning style in class-

room will help all the students

learn and understand better.

Who can help him?

The mainstream teacher in the

class

A special educator in a one on

one teaching.

What kind of support do these

children need?

•Awareness about the condition

called as dyslexia is given to

the teachers

• The teacher identifies chil-

dren in the class who have this

difficulty

• The teacher tries to help the

children within the classroom

setting

•If there‟s no improvement

after trying this for 6 months,

then children are referred for

an assessment.

• After the assessment the chil-

dren would need an individual-

ized educational plan as well as

remedial teaching.

• The special educator will

check to see if there are addi-

tional problems in the area of

speech, language, motor skills,

attention and behaviour areas.

Referrals to the concerned spe-

Mrs. Devipriya

Senthilkumar,

Secretary,

Helikx open school

B e alert for signs of school

refusal; speak with parents

about strategies to intervene

early. Parents should not give

a negative picture of school and teachers.

Reinforce positive behaviors like partici-

pation and efforts, Ignore negative behav-

iors like crying and whining. Children

when they arrive at school, help them to

become involved in getting organized for

the day, performing special jobs such as

handing out papers or collecting books, or

in socializing with other students. Assure

parents that school personnel can support

a child who is anxious about separation.

Assign a peer buddy at recess or lunch

time to help socially. If academic difficul-

ties are present, adjust assignments to the

child’s level. Provide tutoring and request

evaluation to determine if there is a learn-

ing problem or disability requiring other

services.

Warning signs of school refusal

School personnel need to recognize the

following warning signs of school refusal;

Frequent complaints about attending

school.

Frequent tardiness or unexcused ab-

sence.

Absence on significant days (tests,

speeches, physical education classes).

Frequent requests to call or go home.

Excessive worry about parents when

in school.

Frequent requests to go to hospital

for physical complaints.

Crying about wanting to go home.

When a teacher notices any of these signs

it may be a good idea to speak to the

school psychologist or other school sup-

port staff and the child’s parents. It is

important to develop an intervention plan

as quickly as possible when these warning

signs occur, because a quick response has

been found to increase the probability of

successful out come.

Characteristics of students with school

refusal.

Common characteristics and features of

students who refuse school owing to emo-

tional reasons are varied and including

the following;

Separation anxiety; students who refuse

school because of separate anxiety may be

worried about the safety of a care giver or

other loved one and fear something bad

will happen to that individual. It is com-

mon for these children to complaint about

going to school and engage in morning

battles before school that may involve

crying, yelling, kicking or running away

while many young children may experi-

ence separate anxiety in preschool or be-

fore going to kindergarten. The behavior

is more serious when separation anxiety is

so extreme that it results in refusal to

attend school.

Performance anxiety; some students have

extreme anxiety about taking tests, giving

speeches and athletic competition in phys-

ical education class. Those who have

anxiety about these performance situa-

tions worry about being embarrassed or

humiliated in front of their peers.

Social anxiety; some students may feel

social anxiety or worry about social inter-

actions with peers and teachers. They are

uncomfortable in social situations and

may dread socializing with classmates.

Generalized anxiety; some students have a

tendency to perceive the word as threat-

ening and have general worries about

something have happening. These chil-

dren also may have specific fears of disas-

trous events like tornados or war.

Depression; some students may experi-

ence depression or both anxiety and de-

pression and the symptoms include sad-

ness lack of interest in activities, failure to

make expected weight gains, sleep diffi-

culties, feeling tired, feeling worthless,

guilt and irritability. A very serious symp-

tom of depression is suicidal ideation. A

child who is taking about harming himself

or herself referred to a mental health pro-

fessional in order to ensure his or her

safety.

Bullying; some students fear being bullied

these children want to avoid school be-

cause of very real situation in which they

are physically threatened, teased or left

out by other children.

Health related concerns; some students

tempt to have high rates of physical com-

plaints. School refusal may also develop

after a student has been home sick with

an actual illness. In these situations the

child refuses to go to school even after

recovering physically.

BRIDGE THE G A P

7 NEWSLETTER | JUNE 2014

SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKERS COLOUMN

REFUSAL

Mr. JIBIN S JOY

BRIDGE THE G A P

JOTTINGS