COUNSELLING :

1. What is Counselling?
Counselling is "Reaching out to people" in need of any help, be it clinical, academic, developmental or social i.e. providing assistance in the area of mental health by "enriching life & making a difference". The involvement of school & home for the overall growth & development of the child is the major criterion

2. How is Counselling different from talking?
Counselling is a therapeutic process of developing insight within the person & motivating them to make changes. It involves guided talking i.e. a specific pattern is followed during the session. The child is encouraged to implement the output, so as to bring about the desired changes.

3. Who is a School Counsellor?
A School Counsellor is a professionally trained person, who identifies and resolves issues which the child may face which in turn affect the academic, social, emotional & behavioural functioning in school or at home.

4. What is the role of a Counsellor?
A Counsellor's role within the school :-
Classroom counselling & guidance
Individual / parent / family counselling
Mediator between parents, teachers, students & school authorities
Works as a pillar of support and guide, for the overall personality and emotional development of all the students
Helps to develop life skills
Psycho-educational assessments
Aptitude testing & career guidance
Conducts workshops to create awareness
Support groups for parents with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Activity groups for children with ASD
Teacher Training Programme - "Mission Possible" - to empower the teachers to take care of classroom challenges

5. Does going to the counsellor mean "I have a mental/ psychological problem"?
NO, meeting the counsellor is not an indicator of psychological problem. However, it can be considered as a known sphere to bring about the desired and acceptable change. It requires equal amount of effort by the counsellor and the client to derive a workable solution.

6. How will the counsellor help in class?
The counsellor goes to every standard and division of the school on a weekly/ fortnightly basis and discusses various issues/ topics of concern with the children. These are Classroom Counselling Sessions (CRC); usually interactive in nature and carried out in the form of activities, role play, debates, elocutions, presentations etc. They serve as an ice-breaker as well as a mean of identifying and diluting various class issues.

7. When can I approach the counsellor?
The Counsellor can be approached :
Direct appointment
Through the School (Principal/Vice Principal/ teacher's referral)
In some cases, the counsellor may approach the child / parent

8. Are counselling sessions chargeable?
Yes, at a subsidized rate

REMEDIAL EDUCATION :

1. What is the difference between remedial and special education?
Remedial education is for the children who have average to above average intellectual abilities, but do not perform according to their potential or as per grade level as a result of difficulties with reading, writing and arithmetic whereas special education cater the children with below average intellectual abilities.

2. What is special education?
Special education includes teaching academics and non-academics. The non-academics would include behavioral and socio-emotional aspect of the child in question. In most cases special education is done with children who are in school-going age but is not limited to it. Special education includes remedial instruction given by trained educators.

3. How are Remedial educators different from tutors?
Remedial educators are trained professionals who use specific strategies, techniques and methodology for specific deficits areas related to different disabilities. On the other hand, tutors are not equipped with different strategies and techniques. Initially working with a tutor too, will have positive result in terms of improvement. However, improvement would be seen after some time. In case of special education steady progress will be manifest over time.

4. How do you know that the child needs remedial education?
When the child displays the below mentioned -
Grade inappropriate level
Needs improvement in his/her performance level
Diagnosed with any disability
Displays Behavioral Problems

5. How do children get classified as they requiring remedial education services?
A child is classified as needing services after he or she is evaluated for the services and the parent and the multidisciplinary team meet and agree that the child has one of the disabilities and because of that he/she needs remedial education and or related services.

6. What would be the major areas to be remediated?
Attention and concentration, Perception, Phonics, Spelling, Reading, Writing, Comprehension, Concept Development, Math difficulties, Creative writing, Thinking skills, Study skills and Behaviour modification, Development of self help and social skills.

7. What programs you have under special education?
Early intervention
Pre school readiness program
Group therapy
Training in activities of daily living
Training in functional academics
Remedial education program

8. How long it will take to remediate the deficit areas?
It depends upon the child's pace of learning as well as the area and intensity of difficulty experienced by the child. It takes minimum 1 year, comprising 1 or 2 sessions per week is necessary to notice the changes.

9. What is the Procedure for effective intervention plan?
Observation of the child in structured and unstructured situation.
Interviewing parents / grandparents or caretakers
Assessment using tools and checklist.
Program planning.
Discussing program plan with the parents and implementing it.
Evaluation after three months.
Referrals to concerned experts.

10.What is occupational therapy?
Occupational Therapy is the assessment and treatment of physical, cognitive and psychiatric conditions using specific, purposeful activity to prevent disability and promote independent function in all aspects of daily life.
Occupational therapists work with people of all ages to help them participate in daily life activities or "occupations." An occupational therapist working with children focuses on children's skill and their ability to participate in their unique occupations. An occupational therapist works with the person as a whole individual and understands how their social-emotional, physical, cognitive, communication and adaptive behavior difficulties make it difficult for them to participate fully in their everyday life activities.
Some skill areas that occupational therapists work with include self-help, play, fine motor, visual-motor skills, handwriting and sensory processing.

11.How long do we have to continue OT?
Occupational therapy services are provided throughout a person's lifetime. Pediatric OT which is occupational therapy for children is provided to newborns, toddlers, children and teenagers.
Depending on the concerns of the child OT works from a minimum of six months to as long as many years. The child needs to show improvement in the areas of difficulty and should be able to sustain the improvement acquired. Post therapy evaluation is done to determine the changes in the skills the child has achieved and tapering of therapy is suggested. Once therapy is terminated in some case parents are always welcome to approach the therapist if the child is facing a new set of difficulties.

12. What is the Role of OT in classroom setup?
There are expanding numbers of school-ages children who have academic inadequacies that need to be addressed. These inadequacies include cognitive skills, psychosocial skills, functional writing, functional reading, and problem solving.

If a Student Shows Difficulty in the Following Areas, They should be screened for Occupational Therapy:
Awkward pencil grasp
Difficulty cutting with scissors
Difficulty in tracing lines
Unable to draw shapes
Difficulty copying from the board
Poor handwriting (oversized or too small)
Unable to reproduce alphabet with correct letter formation
Disorganized with task or assignments
Unable to remember or sequence
Difficulty with self-help skills
Difficulty hopping, jumping, skipping
(buttoning, zipping, shoe-tying, feeding)
Poor desk posture
Over-sensitive to being touched
Constantly moving around in class
Difficulty waiting in line with other students (poke or push other children)
Poor balance
Difficulty learning new motor tasks

13.What is the Importance of OT in Early Intervention?
Early intervention services help to:
Reduce the future costs of special education, rehabilitation and health care needs;
Improve developmental, social, and educational gains;
Reduce feelings of isolation, stress and frustration that families may experience;
Help alleviate and reduce inappropriate behaviour.
Help children with disabilities grow up to become independent & productive members of the society.
The earlier the children with or at risk of disabilities receive assistance, the sooner their families receive support towards their child's development, the farther they will go in life.

14.What is sensory integration therapy?
Sensory integration therapy is used for children who have difficulty with processing sensory information. The sensory information that the body must organize and perceive correctly includes vision, auditory, touch, olfaction (smell), taste, vestibular (movement) and proprioceptive (positional).
Sensory integrative dysfunction is difficulty taking in, sorting out and/or connecting information from the surrounding world.
Each of our sensory systems has receptors, which communicate information to the brain. The senses of taste, smell, sight, hearing, and touch are commonly recognized. Less well known are the vestibular and proprioceptive systems. The vestibular system receptor organ is in the inner ear and gives us our sense of balance. Proprioceptive organs are located in the muscles and joints and give us sensory information about how our bodies are moving. Together, the touch, vestibular and proprioceptive systems tells us all about our bodies. Other senses tell us about what is happening outside of our bodies.
These basic senses blend in such a way to enable us to function in daily life. It is this complex blending that is called sensory integration. For example, vision integrates with proprioception and touch making it possible to have eye/hand coordination to catch a ball. Proper organization of the senses is necessary for the brain to interpret a situation correctly and make an appropriate response

15.Where do they work?Occupational therapy services can be availed at :
Hospitals/Clinics: There are many hospitals/clinics in which these professionals are employed with in the pediatric department. The children will be directly referred to them by doctors for assessment and therapy.
Rehabilitation centre: There are many public/private rehabilitation centres.
Inclusive and Special schools: Therapists also work within the school settings.
Private practice: In India private practice is very common where many therapists work independently. They may be working part-time in any of the facilities mentioned above along with private practice also.
At GAET, we provide OT services at Counselling Center in Yashodham High school and Lakshdham High school. For further assistance you can contact your school counselor or call these numbers :
Yashodham High school: 40278215/16
Lakshdham High school: 40822430

16.What is speech and language therapy?
Speech and language services begin with initial screening for communication and swallowing disorders. It continues with assessment, diagnosis and therapy. Speech and language therapy helps to deal and improve all aspects of communication. This includes: comprehension, expression, sound production, and social use of language. Speech therapy may include sign language and the use of picture symbols. A specific speech therapy program is tailored to the specific needs and the environment of the individual child.
Speech therapy session includes individual session in therapy room as well as group session in class room.

17.What a speech and language therapy session includes?
Speech therapy sessions activities will vary greatly depending upon the child. The session is designed to engage the child in communication. The therapist will engage the child using games and toys chosen specifically for the child. Several different speech therapy techniques and approaches are used during the session. Activities are planned to deal with following area:

Sitting tolerance
Attention
Command following
Vocabulary building
Sentence building skills
Auditory comprehension
Conversation skills
Narration skills
Sound productions
Drooling and feeding difficulties

18.When does my child need Speech and Language Therapy?
The child might need speech-language therapy for a variety of reasons, including :
Delayed speech and motor milestones
Delayed language development
Autism and Pervasive developmental disorders
Hearing impairments
Misarticulations
Weak oral muscles
Excessive drooling
Feeding and swallowing disorders
Chronic hoarseness, breathy and harsh voice
Birth defects such as cleft lip and palate or operated for the same Traumatic brain injury

19.Why is early intervention important?
The prognosis for a child with a communication disorder is improved if the child receives appropriate therapy as early as possible. Parents are advised to look for signs of delay, even in a baby's first year, and seek help. No one should assume that a silent 2-year-old is a budding genius; silence may be a sign of hearing loss or a neurological disorder.
Working with very young children, with malleable brain connections, may help in fostering the development. Children with speech-language difficulties are more likely to have reading, writing and social problems later. Receiving early treatment may prevent significant frustration and/or behavioral difficulties associated with inability to communicate.
The earlier the intervention, the better the brain can reorganize!

20.What is the role of Speech-language therapist in school set up?
Assessment: Speech and Language therapist conduct assessments to identify students with communication disorders as well as to inform instruction and intervention.
Intervention: Speech and Language therapist provide intervention that is appropriate to the age and learning needs of each individual.
Teacher and parent awareness: Speech and Language therapist provides information regarding various speech and language disorders through pamphlets and workshops.
Parent Training: Speech and Language therapist provides home training programs, guidelines and instructions to carry out at home.

21.How long do we need to continue speech therapy?
Depending on the concerns of the child, Speech and language therapy works from a minimum of six months to as long as many years. Duration of therapy will depend upon various factors such as early identification, child's cognition & functional levels, family involvement; frequency of therapy, regular attendance as well as home follows up and the improvement shown by the child.
Also if therapy is discontinued, parents can again approach the therapist if the child is facing any speech difficulties.

22.Where to find a speech and language therapist?
Speech and language therapists are available at :
Hospitals/Clinics
Rehabilitation centre
Inclusive and Special schools
Private practice

At GAET, we provide Speech and language therapy services at Counselling Center in Yashodham High school and Lakshdham High school. For further assistance you can contact your school counselor or call these numbers :
Yashodham High school: 40278215/16
Lakshdham High school: 40822430