FDMSE conducted a one-day Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Program – 5 June 2024

Faculty of Disability Management and Special Education, Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute, Coimbatore Campus, Department of Intellectual Disability, organized a one-day Community Based Rehabilitation Program (CBR) for parents of individuals with special needs (Intellectual Disability). The event was coordinated by Mrs. V. Indirani, Assistant Professor, on 5th June 2024, in Room No. 10, Administrative Block, FDMSE – RKMVERI.

Twenty-four (Male -1 & Female -23) parents of children with intellectual disabilities (CwID) from the FDMSE Special Education Unit, and Speech and Language Unit participated in the program. Seven (Boys) children with special needs also accompanied their parents. Assistant professors from the Department of Intellectual Disability, Department of Hearing Impairment, and a Physiotherapist attended the program. First-year B.Ed. (ID) teacher trainees also participated.

The program started at 10:15 a.m. with a prayer song sung by Ms. Vetri Surya, a 1st-year B.Ed. (ID) teacher trainee. Ms. Afiya welcomed the gathering. The 2nd-year teacher trainees were divided into three groups, each consisting of six members, to create awareness about Parenting, Self-Advocacy, and Digital Support.

The key points discussed in the program are given below:

Parenting: The topic of Parenting was presented by Deepika, Ranjitha, Shariga, Soundharya, and Sujini.

• Children will grow by observing their surroundings.
• Understanding children’s emotions and accepting them will make them feel stronger.
• Alternatives to punishments.
• Techniques to handle siblings well.
• Importance of logging the data and emotional information of the child.

Self-Advocacy: This topic was presented by Abinaya, Afiya, Aishwarya, Lavanya, Rachel Hepziba, and Rithanya.

• Self-advocacy is the ability to speak up for ourselves about our needs, desires, and fundamental rights.
• Explanation of human rights.
• Meaning and origin of children’s rights.
• Discussion on various child rights.
• Importance of self-advocacy.
• Strategies for parents to advocate for their children.
• Concluded with a self-actualization activity for parents.

After a short break, the session resumed with the topic of Digital Support.

Digital Support: This topic was presented by Arokia Neela Salini, Jessica, Kokela, Poorvika, Vanaja, and Vinodhini.

• Providing digital support to parents of children with special needs.
• Importance of accessing online platforms.
• Information about schemes available for receiving digital support.
• Various useful Android applications.
• Awareness about tech loans.

At the end of the session, Mrs. V. Indirani thanked the gathering, and parents shared their feedback regarding the CBR program. The session ended with a group photograph filled with beautiful smiles at 12:40 p.m.