Helikx School Social Work and Research Department Publication which talks on Learning Disability, School Social Work,Executive Skills in Children, Brain Gym, ADHD etc

1. 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

2. 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

3. 2 NEWSLETTER | JUNE 2014
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

4. 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

5. 4 NEWSLETTER | JUNE 2014
BRIDGE THE G A P
@ media
Our Chairman G Senthilkumar’s Interview in
“ Thannambikkai” July issue
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

6. 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

7. 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
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

8. 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