LIFESKILLS TRAINING FOR PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

You take away all the other luxuries in life, and if you can make someone smile and laugh, you have given the most special gift: happiness.

 Brad Garrett

This is what we strive to do at RASA – Centre for Theatre Arts and Special Needs day after day, year after year, the past 30 years.

Here is a tiny preview of how an adult with special needs engages her time and skills at our vocational centre at Tiruvanmyur.

Here is a small write up about R:

R is very good in production . She is    a quick learner and assists everyone when they need help. She is very systematic and meticulous and is very concerned about the environment. She always checks if the lights have been turned off, if other adults in the group have brought their tea cups  and also sometimes aides the Facilitator by reminding the agenda for the next day. She loves to do yoga sessions and does them passionately.
R loves production work, here are some of the things she is good at.
Embroidery - Running stitch , flying stitch , hemming
Beaded jewellery - s pattern and cluster pattern (yet to learn other patterns )
Painting - capable of following the instructions precisely and replicate the given design.
Making thread beads - she is good at making beads using the embroidery threads.
Please find below a picture of the green beaded necklace made by R. It is very fine work and calls for meticulous and systematic observation and commitment.

N, another male  adult who is very dexterous shows his skills and prowess at arts by these beautiful warli paintings

At our Mandavalli centre too, the  commitment to production is no less. There is a lot of emphasis given to life skills and also to production. Here you can see L printing and helping make brightly coloured envelopes requested by the RASA Accounts Head Mr. VijayKumar.

Links:

• website
• Cultural gift shop- Gift shop

The month of August was enjoyed by the celebration of the  Ganesh Puja. People with special needs came together in various ways, to sing, make clay ganeshas and praise the lord and also to  celebrate the festival. 

Prashanth, a young adult with Autism, who has been with RASA over 16 years has grown into a fine young man. Here in the photos you can see him write down complete sentences on the board. 

He has come a long way from being very agitated and disturbed in class. 

Please find below a video about Akshay. Akshay is a 18 year old Individual with Autism. He is very fond of music and has leaernt to identify ragas from the age of 4 onwards. He can now identify 130 ragas. A popular carnatic muscian Sowmya .S who is currently undergoing the Teachers Training program with Rasa was interacting with him during her visit to the

centre.

The Captain of every ship that sails ,guides and takes the ship along to shores and borders across, through many a storm and with a great vision in mind. Such a one is Dr.Ambika Kameshwar , the Founder Director of RASA. She received a well deserved award from the Satya Sai Institution from the Vice President of India . This Award has been received for excellence in the field of Music and Dance. These two are some of the modalities that are used at RASA for empowering people with special needs. Dr. Ambika has created an entire methodology based on the Indian Theatre Arts and its application.

There is a lot of team spirit and co operative work happening at the centres. a look at the photos gives us an idea of the Hurdle walk being practiced at the Mandavalli centre.

Rasa will report again with chirstmas celebrations and various other small ways in which we teach and inclucate lifeskills for people with special needs.

Links:

• Video of Akshay interacting and identifying carnatic music ragas