Learning Disability, Games & Education, ADHD, School Social Work

1. 1
Volume 1 | Issue 11 NOVEMBER 2014
From Our Chairman’s Desk
N
O
V
E
M
B
E
R
Dear Readers
Happy to share my thoughts through this newsletter.
We are happy to welcome Mrs.Usha Ramakrishnan Chairperson
of Vidya Sagar Chennai as our Academic Council Mentor.
Exam fear time in schools, campus recruitment time in colleges,
all amount to success and failures. It's time to check our ability
vs performance, many times performance of exam only takes in
to account rather than respecting the ability of the student. We
at helikx constantly believe when the ability is focused and giv-
en due exposure to children they gain self confidence and self
esteem.
Recent research and meeting 600 principals of Salem, Tirpur,
Erode and Karur and interaction with more than 2000 parents
through various workshop where once again two aspects were
constantly discussed first one is how to handle children with
learning problems, and secondly emotional problems of chil-
dren.
When it comes to college JOBLESS GROWTH is a challenging
issue. Again problem of behaviour issues and emotional chal-
lenges are on raise. Helikx school social work, counselling and
research department has various solutions to these issues out of
our 15 years of experience.
We have started training school and
college counsellors who can help in
schools and college to overcome
these trivial issues. We request
schools and colleges to utilize our
services, feel free to contact us for
our expert services. Happy to start
our first Assessment, Remedial and Counselling centre in URC
matriculation school, Erode, Counselling wing in Akchara Bala
Bhavan CBSE School, Attur.
Two days counselling program for college lecturers and profes-
sors of VRS Engineering College, Muthaiammal Arts and Sci-
ence, Sudersan Engineering College, we are associated with
these colleges to set up professional counseling wing, process is
going on.
Very soon our service will be available through online virtual
classroom and planning to start Counselling and Remedial Cen-
tre at Karur.
Encourage us with your feedback
Regards
Senthilkumar.G
www.helikxopenschool.org | info@helikx.com | +91-98427-33318 “Sharing is Good”- Share your views on our students works at
blog.helikxopenschool.org Like our page at www.facebook.com/helikxopenschool
AN OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK & RESEARCH DEPARTMENT OF
HELIKX OPEN SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES
A. N Arvinth Helikx Student Photography

2. 2
H
elikx is in
Sports Fever.
Students are
running here
and there calculating, plan-
ning, organizing and practic-
ing. The matter of fact is, it
isn’t just sports that they are
worried of, but something
else too. The sports fever
will be recovered by final
knot game where they have
to present what are the con-
cepts they have learned
while gaming, its formulas,
definitions and finally where
is it in their text books. Isn’t
it enthusiastic?
Games are always important
in a student’s life and a fu-
ture for better education
can be foreseen in ordinary
gamification and blending it
with learning can create
extreme learning environ-
ment where the gamer
knowingly or unknowingly
come across those ideas
which are still to learn in
their curriculum. The inter-
est in game based learning
has accelerated considera-
bly in recent years. Games
can lend the gamer them-
selves to cognitive, social
and problem solving skills,
those skills which are im-
parted to the students by
the educator with high
efforts in the present system
of education. Skills and
knowledge imparted by our
present education system no
longer creates success in
life. Using games in educa-
tion felt to me like a under
used idea and at this point
the idea become relevant.
We normally think of
games as being fun, kind
of trivial, may be some-
thing to pass the time, but
what if we thought about
them as a platform for
inventing the future of
higher education.The next
generation career will be
characterized by increased
use of technology, where e-
games can create an inter-
est to it. Brain research
shows that Non-Dyslexics
use the left brain when
reading. Brain scans reveal
an absence of activity in the
left brain when struggling
dyslexics attempt to read.
Research also shows that
when a dyslexic person
learns to read, the brain
activity is seen in the RIGHT
SIDE of the brain, and not
the left. The right brain
must learn to compensate
for the absence of activity in
the left brain.
So, how does this infor-
mation impact the way we
teach dyslexic students? The
right brain can be trained to
read! But the right brain
learns differently. Typical
teaching methods fail with
dyslexic learners. To train
the right brain to read we
must use, art, logic, creative
thinking, and hands on tech-
niques. Here Education in
Games acts as a therapy.
The psychology of gaming
should be better learned and
considered for this kind of
therapeutical purposes.
While gaming should not be
just gaming, but recreation
and education.
Education in Games acceler-
ates the learning , empower-
ing the student and raise
his self-confidence!
Alen Kuriakose
Trainer, HSSW
EDITORIAL SPORTS DAY GLIMPES

3. 3
P
arents, teachers and coaches all want to give the
best to their children/ students and bring the best
out of their potential. Many times what we say to
encourage and bring the best out of our children
boomerangs and gives the opposite effects. In fact some of the
judgements, lessons, motivating techniques often send the
wrong message. The way we communicate to the children sends
out the message- it tells the children " how to think about them-
selves." For example praising a child about their talents gives
the message that "you have fixed traits and I am judging them"
this is also called "fixed mindset", at the same time validating
the efforts put forth by the children irrespective of the percent-
age of their success sends a different message, it implies that, "
you are a developing person and I am interested in your devel-
opment." And this is called "the Growth Mindset" Says Dr. Car-
ol Dweck.
Dr.Carol dweck is one of the scholars who thought why smart
people sometimes do not become great achievers. After years
of research she found out that smart people who are achievers
were not always risk takers because of their fear of failure. They
believed in fixed intelligence which prevented them from step-
ping out of their comfort zone to learn anything new or harder -
where they need to face failures or have to try harder which is a
natural path for learning. Due to the risk of looking not the
smartest they give up even without trying. Even as adults we
should have heard people saying " that's not my cup of tea" or "
I don't like to do it". The willingness to try something new and
learn comes from growth mindset where we always believe that
something new can be learned if "We put more effort".
Dr.carol dweck says that there are two mind sets that deter-
mine the way children learn and be resilient. The fixed mind set
are the learners who worry about and achieve less. They have a
fixed mindset that they are smart and they don't have to work
hard to learn something new. However the learners with growth
mind set believe that talent and intelligence are developed over
time, they don't worry about achievement because they believe
that they can achieve better if they work hard. They take chal-
lenge more willingly and achieve more over long haul.
The greatest benefits of being a learner with growth mindset is
the belief in the value of efforts and hard work. They feel smart
when they work hard. The learners with fixed mind set worry to
keep looking smart. And they believe it will be hard for people
who are not smart which is a very destructive belief. Learners
with growth mind set accepts mistakes and set backs they see
them as inevitable and are natural path for learning. Only the
fixed mind set learners give up or not try something new be-
cause of the fear of not looking smart among the people they
know. However the growth mind set learners know they will
learn something new even if it is tough their hard work will help
them learn.
Thus praising the efforts or the process builds a mind set that's
more willing to work harder for success. It makes the students
believe that they have not yet mastered a concept and they need
to work harder rather than think that they can't learn.
Reference:
http://community.mindsetworks.com/newsletter
Mindset of Dr. Carol Dweck.
A positive approach towards hard work and building success.
By Murugalakshmi Thirumalai , USA

4. 4
D
o we need exams??? Yes,
exams are important as the
results influence future spe-
cialized career, social posi-
tion and self–high regard. Every person
has own worst level of worry and worry,
which helps him/ her to accomplish the
best results. The thought of examinations
causes horrible physical conditions on
students like headache, nausea, nervous-
ness, sleeplessness, stress, tension, etc.
They experience nervousness and feel
stressed during the exam period. Tips to
Prevent Exam Fever
 Believe in yourself. You are capable
of passing the exam. You wouldn't
have been given a place in the class
or on the course if you didn't have the
ability to do it.
 Don’t just worry – take action! If you
don't understand some of your course
material, getting stressed out won't
help. Instead, take action by asking
the teacher or asking your class ma-
tes to help you understand the prob-
lem.
 You must discuss the chapter learnt
with your friends as sharing of
knowledge is a good way of remem-
bering and it helps you a lot in learn-
ing new things as well.
 Aim to do your best but recognize
that if you think that "anything
less than A+ means I've failed"
then you are creating unnecessary
stress for yourself.
 Take a break. As soon as you notice
you are losing concentration, take a
short break – go for a walk, talk to a
friend or just listen to some music.
Then you will feel refreshed and able
to concentrate on your revision again.
 Have a positive approach and think-
ing about the approaching exam. Re-
lax and energize your mind when you
feel tired of incessant reading.
 Have self confidence and belief in
yourself but don’t be over confident,
have enough sleep which your body
needs, try in breaking the chapter/s
into points and sub points and learn
them for easy remembrance.
 Eat healthy food and avoid fast foods,
soft drinks and too much of coffee or
tea intake. and place a time table for
studies well in advance.
 Try to understand the notion of the
subject instead of blindly learning the
lessons by heart. Ensure that your
study has no disturbance. Move away
from that place by taking breaks.
Take breaks often by structuring your
time schedule. Every time you feel
fresh, study the boring or difficult
subjects first for few minutes and
then move on to easy ones.
 Have trust in God and pray to him
genuinely,. Lastly, be honest in your
work so that you could be successful
in your exams.
 Bear in mind that neither the world
would stop nor you are going to lose
everything in your life in case you
don’t write the exam well. It doesn’t
mean that you aren’t good in studies.
Remember, there could be many rea-
sons for not getting good marks in
the exam so never feel embarrassed
of less marks and just follow the
above tips to prevent exam fever.
Wish you all the best for your EXAMI-
NATION my dear students.
Grandma’s Receipe
Mrs. P.V Ananthalakshmi,
Principal, Helikx Open School

5. 5
Balance your child’s nu-
trients-add multiple vita-
mins that include vitamin
D, vitamin B12, zinc, cop-
per, magnesium, iron, calci-
um, and fish oils. These are
the things that help grow
normal nerves and keep
them working well.
Eliminate or drastically
reduce “fast foods” in his
or her diet. Fast foods
have been shown to in-
crease the risk of ADHD
behavior-related prob-
lems in both children
and teens. You should
add a minimum of two
fresh fruits and three
veggies per day. In addi-
tion, you should increase
their intake of protein-
meats, cheeses, and milk-
and decrease foods that
contain any type of sugar.
While eating and drinking
excess sugar doesn’t cause
ADHD, it is one of those
more than 54 things that
can mimic ADHD, causing
misdiagnosis!
Avoid what we consider
“toxic foods”. Those are the
ones that usually contain
lots of red and yellow dyes,
complex preservatives, as
well as large amounts of
caffeine and other stimu-
lants. Energy drinks and
what I call “small bottle
hits” or caffeine loaded
“high energy” power drinks
and supplements fall into
this group. Many over the
counter (OTC) drugs are
also stimulants and can
cause a child to “become
hyper”. So, you’ll need to
study the ingredients of
every OTC drug your child
takes regularly.
Make sure your child
gets at least 7 hours of
restful sleep each night.
Multiple studies over the
past two years have con-
firmed that anything that
interferes with normal
sleep can cause behavior
problems. If you suspect
your child has a sleep dis-
order, please see your doc-
tor as soon as possible for
evaluation. Some sleep
disturbances can be very
serious and may cause mul-
tiple medical problems.
Push your child to exer-
cise at least one hour for
five out of every seven
days. Enroll him or her in
some type of organized
high-energy requiring
sports activity, such as soc-
cer, basketball, tennis, or
football.
Many
behavior experts advise
physical activity to de-
crease ADHD impulsivity
and hyperactivity.
Limit telephone time-
television time-video game
time to a total of 75
minutes per 24 hours. Stud-
ies have shown that
playing video games
and texting messages
actually increases a
child’s impulsivity and
fosters a need for con-
stant and increasing
stimulation. Playing
video games has like-
wise been implicated in
ADHD hyperactivity and
the need for instant gratifi-
cation and what my teen
patients call “the need for
speed”.
Arrange for a lifestyle
coach-academic tutor who
will meet with your child
for at least an hour three
times a week. Many ADHD
coaching programs exist,
but the best are those in
which the coaching and
tutoring happen face to
face, not by Internet or by
phantom teaching (on
DVD).
Referance:http://
www.howtolearn.com/2011
/03/seven-natural-things-to-
help-adhd-behavior-without
-drugs/
“Seven things that help ADHD
behavior without drugs”
By Ms Jainy John,
Helikx School Social Worker
Helikx School Social work and Research
Department happy to spoon sore the
event and also participating in one of
the plenary session as resource person.
From Jan 28th to 30 more than 200
papers were discussed.
33rd National Conference On
Indian Society For Profes-
sional Social Work
Two Days Workshop
On School Social Work @
Bharathiar University,
Coimbatore on
December 22-23, 2014

6. 6
Awake And Alive
By Ms. K.Sasireka,
Remedial Teacher Helikx Open
School
Like a bunch of flowers, kids come in many
different sizes, shapes, colors and fragrance.
It's not an easy task for the educators to instruct
numerous types of students, who enter a grade
with different types of skills,support systems, dis-
positions and talents. But, until now cherry pick-
ing has been a myth in most educational institu-
tions by most educators. The cherry picked once
enjoy the best of both worlds were as the rest
miss the boat. It's very essential for every educa-
tors and educational institutions to understand
that the proof of the pudding is in the eating. No
kid is an abbreviated piece of nothing. The once
who were left behind because of cherry picking
has a pup's chance and feels blue and worthless.
They also feel ignored, rejected and denied which
ultimately reflects in their behavior. It's about
time that we've got to sleep on it and be on the
ball. Let's put our foot down and break our legs to
get the ball rolling. Encouraging the kids without
cherry picking is part and parcel to bring about a
great change in the life of the students. Let's stay
awake and alive.
ehd; Kjy; Kjypy; ghHj;j miw gs;sp miw
mjd; Kd; ehd; ,Ue;j miw jhapd; fUtiw
vd;id Rke;j mtis fz;zPh;
rpe;jtplkhl;Nld;
mk;khit vd; kdjpy; nja;tkhf
epidf;fpNwd;
kW gpwtp vd;gJ cz;ik vd;why;
cdf;Nf kfdhf gpwf;f Ntz;Lk;
Gopi Krisna
IX Student Helikx
Pongal Celebration
Christmas Celebration
Origami session for our helikx
school children
Winners of Marathon
Students visit to Fine Arts College
Annual Day Celebration
Mrs and Mr.Ravichandran
Arrs School Correspondent and
Mr. Vijayaraghavanwere the Chief
Guests

7. 7
When a child has a disability,
much of his potential may be
used up merely handling stress.. There
could be internal stress, of not under-
standing his feelings towards his disabil-
ity, of wanting to present a more positive
image of himself to his parents and sib-
lings, on the one hand, and, external
stress of peer pressure, on the other.
Findings from brain studies done on peo-
ple show that under stress the emotional
part of the brain, functions in ways that
undermines the working of the brain's
executive centre, the pre frontal lobes.
This pre frontal area is the site of working
memory, the ability to pay attention and
keep in mind relevant information. This
working memory is vital for comprehen-
sion, planning, decision making, reason-
ing and learning- the very areas we are
concerned with in learning disabili-
ties’’We must address ourselves to these
factors as they impede children's learning
In them we must include their inability to
understand their emotions, and manage
them effectively and thereby get stressed,
and be unaware of it. There is a need to
first look at children holistically, at their
strengths, their disabilities, and into the
accompanying stresses that prevent them
from performing at their best
Enable them fill in their inner reserves
with new self awareness, abilities to with-
stand stress, even while working with
them to better theirperformance ,Only
then will we be truly enhancing their po-
tential to learn…The most powerful inputs
are those that speak to both the heart and
head……
In 1983, Howard Gardner postulated "The
Theory of Multiple Intelligences "which
redefined intelligence, telling people "its
not how smart you are –Its how You are
smart" and postulated eight different in-
telligences of which 2 were the personal
intelligences –the inter personal intelli-
gence and the intra personal intelligence.
Further to this in the 1990's came Daniel
Goleman 's intensive work in the area of
the personal intelligence which he named
the emotional intelligences -elaborating in
his books why it can matter more than IQ
There are five main elements to emotional
intelligence- self-awareness, self-
regulation, and motivation, as personal
competencies, and empathy and social
skills as social competencies
Personal Competence – determines how
we manage ourselves, and includes
 Self awareness our own emotional
awareness.
 accurate self assessment-knowing our
strengths and weaknesses,
 self confidence which comes from a
strong sense of our self worth and
capabilities
 self regulation which includes self
control, the ability to keep negative
emotions under check, trustworthi-
ness ,conscientiousness, adaptability
in handling change, and innovation-
being comfortable with new ideas and
approaches
 motivation-including striving to meet
a standard of excellence, commit-
ment, initiative and optimism continu-
ing to pursue goals despite obstacles
and setbacks
Social Competence: empathy, an aware-
ness of others needs ,concerns , sensing
others feelings understanding the others
point of view, taking interest in what con-
cerns them ,sensing others development
needs and enabling them develop it social
skills including listening and communica-
tion skills, ability to resolve conflict, lead-
ership skills - inspiring and guiding oth-
ers ,and team building skills amongst oth-
ers . The combination of these competen-
cies makes for a formidable professional
While great emphasis is paid on the
knowledge and skills of professionals, it is
ultimately her emotional intelligence
which makes or mars her effectiveness –
and thereby a child stands to gain or lose
Emotional intelligence enables us to listen
and attune ourselves to the other non
judgmentally, even while managing our
own emotions effectively. Emotional intel-
ligence is an idea that can make the
difference
Emotional Intelligence Its Vital Role In Enhancing The Learning Potential
Of Students With Disabilities
Usha Ramakrishnan ,Chairperson Vidyasagar Chennai , Mentor Helikx Open School
Usha ramakrishnan first interactive session with Helikx parents. Redefining our teaching approach, Helikx open school re working according to
Multiple intelligence theory in full fledged. Getting ready for next academic year

8. 8
SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK & RESEARCH DEPARTMENT
change
lives.
COUNSELING
 Emotional & Behavioral Problems in Children
 Stress Management & Anxiety
 Career Counseling and Personality Development
 Interest Profile Assessment
 Evidence based therapies
 Psycho educational assessment for Children
 Behavioral Assessment for Children
 Parental Counseling and Guidance
SCHOOLS
 Teacher Training in Early Child-
hood Education & Remedial
Teaching
 Workshop on Art of Positive Par-
enting, Milestones Education,
Needs of Children
 Life Skill Camps in Schools for
Teachers and Students.
COLLEGES
 Two day Workshop on School Social Work
 Workshop on Specific Learning Disability
 Workshop on Counseling
 Block Placement/ Internship / Field Visits
 Customized Add on Courses
 Life Skill Trainer Programme
CERTIFICATION COURSES
 Certificate Course in Counseling for Teachers, Parents, Professionals & Practitioners
 Certificate Course in Life skill for Teachers
 Certificate Course on School Social Work
 Certificate Course on Specific Learning Disability for Teachers & Parents
The Helikx Open School
Helikx traces its origin to the Helikx trust, the activities of
which spring around to imparting academic skills to stu-
dents, in particularly to those children with specific learning
disabilities. It is the first school in the district of Salem which
caters education and tracing for more than a decade of
experience in dealing, children with learning difficulties,
slow learners and ADHD students. These children may find
very difficult to read, write, spell and in math, when com-
pare to children of the same age group. Applying remedial
teaching based on learning needs and potential of different
students, with the team of trained teachers, psychologist,
social works and with unique methodologies.
Open School & Learning Centre Accredited Study Centre for NIOS
Contact us: Mr G Senthilkumar, Chairman Helikx: + 91-98427-33318
Email: gs@helikx.com
149, Alamelu Nagar, Pagalpatty, Muthunaickenpatty Road, Salem -636304. 0427-6532870
Hostel Facility Available