Special education is a modified programme which involves some unique tools, techniques and research efforts in improving instructional arrangements to meet the individual needs of exceptional children. The goals of special education are similar to the educational goals for neurotypical children; only the techniques for attaining them are different. This programme is based on the principles of special education which state that the school will provide a continuum of services to meet individual needs of students in the least restrictive environment which may vary from year to year and semester to semester. We are equipped with a multidisciplinary team where the school management, mainstream teachers, special educator, counsellors, occupational therapist, speech/language therapists, parents and the students themselves are the stakeholders. This multidisciplinary approach provides the best services for our differently abled students. The school provides an appropriate environment for education and caters to the diverse needs of all the students together
and does not segregate students with defined disabilities. A student with special needs may spend extra time in a resource room for individualized instructions, or he may receive therapeutic sessions away from the other students, but his home base is the regular classroom and the goal is to provide as much instruction in the classroom as possible. Sometimes SEN educator and other members of our multidisciplinary team come into the classroom to provide this instruction.
Standing operating procedure for intervention involves receiving of the referrals followed by assessments. Both formal and informal assessment tools are available. Informal assessment tools include observations, checklists, Handwriting assessment, GLAD etc. Formal assessment is carried out only in extreme cases. After receiving the assessment report, an IEP (Individualized Education Programme) is started based on a written statement about the educational programme for the child with disability. It serves as a management tool used to ensure that the child would receive the needed special education and related services.
Intervention strategies
Varity of need based educational intervention strategies have been used for the interventions like:
- Individual or Small group sessions: The neurodivergent student spends most of the week in a regular classroom and is pulled out for individualized or small-group instruction three to five hours a week. Educators have experimented with different systems of grouping them by grade level or by degree of disability when they meet in a small-group settings in the resource room.
- Remedial/Reinforcement classes: Subjective support in a small group setting is provided to the students in need on regular basis.
- Peer tutoring: We follow a buddy system, wherein we choose some students to be a model. These models/buddies support and teach the student in need and help them to get settled within the school environment.
- Therapeutic Intervention: To provide an eclectic, multidisciplinary approach, our school has partnered with a renowned institution - SOCH. SOCH therapists provide occupational and speech/language therapy to the CWSNs for their holistic development.
- Use of Technology: Technology makes the classroom environment more invigorating with the use of audio-visual aids like smart board, modern software and applications. They help our students to overcome challenges in a streamlined pattern. To provide additional academic support, the school offers various kinds of accommodations as per the CBSE guidelines. We provide the following variations of adaptations, comprising of both accommodations and modifications, to support our students.
- Exemptions and Accommodations: We have been providing exemptions from language and other main subjects like Mathematics and Science to the children who have been diagnosed with SLD (Specific Learning Disability) as per norms governed by CBSE. The students are also provided the option of choosing subjects like Painting and Music.
- Assessment Modifications Based on the needs of the children as per the CBSE guidelines, we have been following various kinds of modifications related to the assessments like:
- Content modification
- Invigilation support
- Spelling exemptions
- Extra time
- Reader and writer support/ scriber support /provision of scribe
Delhi Public School, Sushant Lok strives to provide emotional and behavioural support for the different needs that children present in school as well as at home. Counselling for children with neurodivergence opens safe spaces for them to connect with other adult(s) outside of family who could help them with their daily life struggles. Through behavioural counselling, we are able to help the children and their families in developing social, emotional and coping skills. We engage children through play and talk and assist them to bring out their innate ability to connect thereby enhancing to build their social skills outside of the classroom. We include parents also in this step as they are the best judge of their child’s progress and it also helps them support their children better. The school works together with the Anchor Department- Special educator, counsellor, teachers and parents to foster a growth-oriented environment for the children.
Delhi Public School Sushant Lok is at the forefront in promoting sensitization training for children with special needs, to each one of its stakeholders- be it parents, students or teachers. The school has an Inclusion Policy to ensure fair conduct towards each individual. Workshops are held on a regular basis to warrant awareness, such as Autism Awareness Workshop for Teachers, Identification and Intervention of Children with Special Needs, Conscious Parenting, Mentoring and Bonding Better with Students for Teachers. The needs of the differently abled are discussed constructively during regular classes with other class students to help them empathise with and support students with special needs.