Recent Projects

National Association of the Blind, Mumbai

A large team of 2 PTs, 2 OTs and a SLT ran a two week programme on the physical management of children with multiple disabilities for teachers in a home based and inclusive education service. A common issue in India and other countries is that professionals are trained in working with children with a single disability but now children with multiple disabilities are starting to access their services and this is an area where there is limited expertise and experience.

The training covered many topics including cerebral palsy, 24 hour postural management, positioning for activity, mobility, handling, eating and drinking and child lead and play approaches. The programme involved practical sessions with children to assist teachers with integrating knowledge into practice. While these sessions with children and parents were essential and what the teachers wanted more of, they also raised a number of ethical concerns for the VOPs. This was a challenging but rewarding couple of weeks for the VOPs.

Next we aim to evaluate the training that has already been done as we have been requested by NAB to repeat the training and this area is also a need for other organisations so there is the possibility of developing a training package on Working with Children with Multiple Disabilities.

ADAPT, Mumbai

An OT and two SLTs spent a very busy two weeks involved in a number of activities. They work with the therapists and teachers of children with Cerebral Palsy at an early intervention service and school, assessing and advising on positioning, eating and drinking and communication. The ADAPT therapists said this was very helpful in providing parents with a second opinion and reinforcing messages that ADAPT therapists had been giving teachers regarding positioning in the classroom.

Three workshops were run for special educators and therapists external to ADAPT on Handwriting and Dysphagia. This is the first time that MAITS has worked with an organisation in providing training to a wider group of professionals and we believe this is the first time a workshop on dysphagia for children with CP has been run in India. While we think working in this way is valuable, it raised new issues that will need more thought in the future.

We are planning follow up visits to ADAPT, this time focusing on training the teachers and developing materials with ADAPT staff to support parents in understanding and following guidelines around supporting the child's eating and drinking in the home.

Helen Keller Institute for the Deaf and Deaf Blind, Mumbai

A special educator and SLT visited a school and early intervention service within this organisation. It was an opportunity for VOPs to review the practices of the teachers within the organisation and provide training in specific areas including using a communication profile to assess communication skills. One of these VOPs reported that the experience was enriching for them.

Ummeed Child Development Centre, Mumbai

A SLT spent 3 weeks with this centre, which has limited and variable access to SLT input. She spent time training the 50 professionals that work at the centre so that they have a shared understanding of speech, language and communication skills and development. Then she supported staff in developing a tool that they could use to assess children’s skills in these areas and design goals and intervention. Joint sessions were conducted with staff at the centre and these sessions provided parents with a take home message about their child’s development of communication skills. Recommendations were also made which will enable the centre to integrate communication goals and strategies across all of their programme areas, including the provision of visual materials to support children’s understanding within the environment.

Sangath, Goa

In August, a small team of VOPs visited Sangath, one of our partner organisations in Goa. They met with the India working party there to continue joint work on the development of a resource for community workers providing support to families with a child with identified disabilities. The visit was extremely successful and we are looking forward to producing something useful not only for community workers in the Goa region, but for workers in other areas of India and indeed the globe.

Prasanna Autism Centre, Pune

An OT and SLT conducted a very successful visit to Prasanna in May-June. Pune is a large city a couple of hours from Mumbai, but tends to have a more relaxed atmosphere than Mumbai. The VOPs were requested to work with the teachers and therapists at the school on integrating therapy into the classroom. Collaborative working and integrated practices have come a long way in the UK but there are barriers to these approaches being developed in India. The Founder of Prasanna, reported that the MAITS VOPs were excellent at demonstrating functional therapy in the classroom and she felt that “the process had begun”. We are planning a repeat visit in 2012 to consolidate and move things along further. We have also been requested to provide additional training on using technology in the classroom and will be looking for a third team member.

City Cambodia Speech and Language Therapy Project

The 'City Cambodia Speech and Language Therapy Project' was initiated in 2007 by Tim Pring (City University) and Debbie Sell (Head of SLT, Great Ormond Street Hospital). The project has expanded each year, from 3 newly qualified SLTs participating in 2007, to 8 in 2010 (6 part-funded by MAITS and 2 funded by CLAPA), and 6 in 2011. Each group has gone for 3 months. MAITS has been part funding this project since 2009 and this year is supporting 2 NQTs, an experienced SLT to supervise them, and an SLT from a previous trip to conduct an evaluation of their input since the project began.

Sri Lanka

Two groups of VOPs went to Sri Lanka this summer to provide training to the undergraduate Speech and Language Therapy students as well as qualified therapists upgrading from diploma to degree level. The subject areas taught on were working on language and cognition with adults with neurological impairments, and dysphagia (adults and paediatrics). In addition to the Sri Lankan participants there were also two pairs of SLTs from Bangladesh who attended the training. The aim is that Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi SLTs will now feel able to lecture and supervise on these subjects themselves and will provide one another for support in this.

Uganda

In April 2011, MAITS funded a return visit of a Speech and Language Therapist and an Occupational Therapist to Entebbe, in Uganda. Their aim was to consolidate the relationship with the Komo Centre and continue to share and demonstrate best practice techniques for working with children with disabilities in the school environment. They also supported the planning and running of a Disability Awareness Day and used this as an opportunity to extend networking between different agencies/groups including: Komo Centre, Entebbe Welfare School, UPACLED (a Ugandan Parents Group), SLTs and OTs based at Mulago Hospital and involved in running the therapy courses, student OTs and SLTs. In additional to this they developed the Community Based Rehabilitation project there – providing advice and model strategies which can be used to support children in home environments.

Zambia

In April 2011, MAITS supported a teacher from Oakleigh School (London) to visit Choongo Basic School in Zambia with the aim of initiating a relationship with them and also finding out about special educational needs settings in the area. Choongo Basic School is a local, government run school for children and has a residential provision for around 45 children with physical disabilities. The school also includes children with learning disabilities. Oakleigh School feel that this visit was the beginning of what they hope is a sustainable and mutually beneficial partnership between the two schools.

Mexico – Nuevo Amanecer

In April 2011, MAITS funded a Speech and Language Therapist on a two week trip to Monterrey, Mexico. She spent two weeks at Nuevo Amanecer, a multi-disciplinary institute for children and adults with cerebral palsy.

Sadhana Village – Pune, India

MAITS sent an Arts Psychotherapist and an Occupational Therapist to Sadhana Village near Pune in India on two separate visits. Sadhana Village has a residential facility for adults with learning disabilities, mental health and physical disabilities and well as a school and a community outreach programme. These trips provided valuable input to a number different projects managed by Sadhana Village, including Disability Awareness training to village Health Care Workers, and Arts Therapy activities and Person Centre Planning for clients in the residential programme.

Cambodia – Nursing at the National Paediatric Hospital

In February 2011, MAITS funded four nurses to carry out training in Cambodia. This was a follow up visit to an initial fact finding exercise in 2010, which concluded that nurse led workshops would benefit nursing staff and ultimately improve the quality of patient care. The nurses were based at the National Paediatric Hospital (NPH), which is a government run hospital in Phnom Penh. During their visit they conducted six workshops, which included training on Basic life support, Cannula care and distraction, Care of the neonate, Child development and Recognising a sick child. A minimum of 30 nurses attended these workshops each day. Using the workshop topics as a platform, they also supported the nursing staff in practice on the wards and developed a ward based / practice learning system, which incorporates both future learning and the programme. They continue to maintain regular email contact with the Training Unit, in order to keep updated on training provision and enable them the opportunity to address any issues or queries that they might have. They are keen to return in 2012.

More Work in Bangladesh

In Autumn and Winter 2010, MAITS has supported four trips to Bangladesh, of varying lengths. These included a visit of 3 months from two SLTs (Speech and Language Therapists) to the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed, in Savar, to help with the teaching of the SLT degree programme based there, as well as to support students and newly qualified therapists in clinical practice. In December, another group went to the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed, to work specifically with the teachers there in the on-site special school. The group consisted of two special education teachers, an OT (Occupational Therapist), a PT (Physiotherapist) and a special education teaching assistant who is fluent in Bangla. There they consucted a needs assessment and several workshops were provided on various aspects on special education, to which staff from other organisations were invited. Also in December, MAITS funded a PT and an OT to work for 2 weeks at the Bangladesh Prothibondi Foundation, a school for children with special needs in Dhaka, where they provided intensive training on motor assessment and sensory integration work. Meanwhile, another SLT has been based in a remote part of the country, working in a hospital which also has a special needs unit. She will be away for a year. All of the visits have been extremely well received and there have been instant pleas for their return. It is clear from the feedback that the VOPs have worked extremely hard whist away, have been adaptable to the local needs in a very short space of time and have been able to share highly relevant skills in a manner that was accessible and replicable. We at MAITS sincerely hope to continue to support these projects and to enable the consolidation and further development of these strong foundations which have been put in place.

Music Therapist and Drama Movement Therapist Visit to India

MAITS funded a Music Therapist and Drama and Movement Therapist to visit India for a couple of weeks over the UK Summer, 2010. They visted a centre in Pune, the World Centre for Creative Learning Foundation, which trains 'Art Become Therapy' practitioners. These practitioners already have professional qualifications in related areas but then take on additional training in arts based therapy to enhance the input they provide to clients with a variety of needs. The MAITS therapists’ objectives for the trip were to showcase Music Therapy and Drama and Movement Therapy as they are used in the UK, and provide an opportunity for dialogue with the Arts Becomes Therapy practitioners to explore if there were any additional strategies or techniques that may be added to their existing therapy. The MAITS Therapists found the experience challenging but rewarding both professionally and personally. The area in which they felt they were able to offer the most input was in the provision and modeling of supervision practices.

Visit to Bangladesh

In April 2010, MAITS funded a Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) to go to Bangladesh for 5 weeks. The therapist spent time at the Bangladesh Health Professionals Institute and the clinics of the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP), The Dhaka Shishu Hospital (Children’s Hospital) and The Bangladesh Protibondhi Foundation School. The therapist left saying that it had been “an amazing trip and I feel I have achieved a good deal!" MAITS currently has two SLTs volunteering at the inclusive school of the CRP, following up recommendations arising from the previous visit and a team of six health and educational professionals is due to go back to Bangladesh this December for further follow-up.

Jack Tizard Special School Trip to Uganda

In 2009 and 2010, MAITS helped fund two teachers, a Speech and Language Therapist and an Occupational Therapist from Jack Tizard Special School (London) to go to Uganda. In 2009, the team visited two special schools; The Komo Centre for Understanding Children with Autism and the Entebbe Welfare School, a school for children with a range of learning and physical disabilities. The team provided resources to the schools, spent time in classes learning about how children in Uganda are taught and also shared skills by providing training to school staff. MAITS funded a further highly successful trip in Easter 2010, involving the same SLT and an Occupational Therapist, during which they helped to organize an Autism Awareness Day for parents and the local community, which they hope will become an annual event. MAITS is providing advice to the coordinators of this link programme on how to take it forwards and will help to recruit and send out more teachers and therapy staff to support educational centres and rural communities in Uganda.

At The Komo Centre

Bangladesh Health Professional Institute

The Bangladesh Health Professions Institute (BHPI) which is based at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) in Savar, and is affiliated to Dhaka University, has recently set up the first Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) degree course in Bangladesh. This is in addition to the courses in Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Nursing that it has been running for some time. As there are currently no experienced SLT's in Bangladesh, the course relies on overseas therapists to teach specialist modules and provide opportunities for clinical supervision. MAITS funded an SLT from the UK for a 2 month trip. Four weeks were spent at the CRP itself, followed by 2 weeks supervising SLT students at a rural clinic in Gaibundha and 2 weeks in Sylhet. This also included taking part in two 'mobile therapy camps' - one bus camp and one boat camp organised by the NGO ‘Centre for Disability in Development’. At these camps, therapy services travel (by either bus or boat) to treat patients in very remote areas.

Early Communication Workshop

Visit to Tiruchirappalli

A special education teacher and an SLT went out to India to attend the International Rehabilitation Conference called "Challenging the Challenges of Disability", where they presented a paper highlighting the values and practices of Inclusion in their setting, Whitefield Schools and Centre, a large special school in East London. After the conference they ran a three-day course on Speech and Language Therapy and Communication for students and professionals in the Rehabilitation Science Department at the Holy Cross College. Topics covered were Making Information Accessible, Creating Communication Passports, Sensory Play and Exploration, Exploring Sensory Activities, Developing Understanding of Narrative, Creating Sensory Stories, and Carol Gray's Social Stories.

The International Music Therapy Conference

For this one-week conference, music therapy training was provided by two music therapists from the UK to encourage staff to use music with students who have special needs, encouraging communication and interactive skills, personal expression and development. The aim of the conference was to increase understanding of what takes place in music, our relationship to music and how musical play may be used to encourage communication and development. The overall structure of the week was divided into morning presentations / lectures and afternoon practical improvisations and activities, encouraging self reflection and active music participation as much as possible.

AURED and Helen Keller, Mumbai

AURED is a centre for children who have had cochlear implants. Three professionals visited this centre and presented sessions on autism, communication development and assessment and diagnosis of speech and language difficulties. Fruitful discussions about specific children receiving input from AURED took place and suggestions regarding how AURED can network with other centres and schools were explored. Various presentations were also given at the Helen Keller School about communication issues for pupils with Multi Sensory Impairments (MSI) and Learning Difficulties. Participants (teachers and students) were very interested in the information provided. All the participants were eager to try out the new approaches discussed. The visiting professionals also got the opportunity to observe and join in with lessons in different classes throughout the school.

AURED

Clarke School – Chennai

Clark School is a school for pupils with a range of needs including hearing impairment, MSI, and Learning Difficulties. A range of presentations were given to the students about communication issues. The sessions were presented in a variety of formats including lectures, video presentations, question and answer sessions and workshops. The participants in these sessions were first and second year teachers from Clarke School and also some teachers and lecturers. Lectures and discussions at Clarke School were translated into Tamil for participants, which was a new challenge for the visiting professionals!

Clarke School

MBCN Special School – Delhi

Two Speech and Language Therapists had the opportunity to discuss current practice and developments around communication issues and special education needs with the Head Teacher, including a discussion and recommendations for the new school building that is in the process of being designed and built. They also presented sessions to the teaching staff, which were well received. The staff were receptive to the information provided and asked many questions. Specific children were called to the sessions for the visiting professionals to provide basic assessment and suggest appropriate intervention techniques.

MBCN Special School

Short Courses

An "Introduction to Autism" short course was held at the department of Rehabilitation Science, Holy Cross College, Trichy, South India. The aims of the course were to introduce relevant information, theory and practice relating to teaching and learning of students with autism. There were about 35 course participants: these included teachers, postgraduate students, parents and other professionals such as an Educational Psychologist, student doctor and social workers. Each participant received a Certificate of Attendance at the end of the course. Following this, a two-week course, "Working with Children with Learning Difficulties" took place at the Holy Cross College. A range of relevant topics was covered around the area of learning difficulties and encouraging the students to join in as actively as possible

Short Course Participants in India

Neils Chapman Road Show

The Head Teacher of Whitefield Schools and Centre visited a range of centres and provisions in India and Pakistan. He spoke to many professionals about Autism and SEN issues and led discussions and information sessions. He also advised schools and centres about building works and how to adapt their premises to enable access for pupils with a range of SEN. In particular he was instrumental in advising the new building works of a large Special School in Karsaz, Pakistan. Niels also visited a range of centres involved with social issues such as the empowerment of women (The World Memon Foundation - Pakistan) and the education of slum children (The Magic Bus, Karjat, India).