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TOOLKIT 1 TOOLKIT 1
Background
Home: A School! Indeed for all of us human beings home is the basis or the beginning of our learning experience. At CIMR when we started our Home Bound Rehabilitation Programme (in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India) we identified 264 mentally challenged persons in 50 wards of the Corporation; out of which 170 were found receiving no training at all. When we decided to call them together and train them we discovered that going daily to a particular place of assembly and conducting training was impossible. So we decided that a feasible solution was to have 'family involved training'. Family members, when given awareness, necessary guidelines, and initiation, become the best trainers for mentally challenged persons. Family and Community involvement becomes possible. The individual is part of the family; the family is part of the community; and therein the intermingling and interaction among the three forces became the mainstream of the Home Based Rehabilitation Programme.This tool, Home: A School!, is a guideline for family members in the training of their mentally challenged pupil.
Introduction
Objects or articles which are seen and handled everyday are shown to the mentally challenged persons. They are allowed to learn their uses through multisensory experiences. This is done using four basic shapes:1. Circle
2. Rectangle
3. Triangle
4. SquareAny object seen in nature constitutes a basic shape and will have one of the basic colors too. From these basic shapes, numbers can be derived. A circle is a unified whole. So the number "1" derives from it. A rectangle has two equal longer sides and two equal shorter sides; thus, the number "2" is derived. A triangle has three sides and the number "3" is got. A square has four equal sides and so the number "4" is derived.
Every object in nature are three dimensional. Thus, they have length, breadth, height and weight. Associated with this are units of measurement like inch, foot, centimeter, meter, etc., which are also to be taught. The student is allowed to measure the length, breadth, etc., and mark it on a separate sheet of paper (see sample Figure 1).
Alphabets can also be derived from the shapes. "O" is an English letter. Half of it makes "C" and "U". All of the twenty six alphabets of the English language are formed directly from shapes, or a combination of different shapes. Along with these small words associated with the task the person is engaged in is also to be taught. If it is a table then wood/metal/plastic/cane and associated words like reading, writing, dining, is to be taught. The student learns shape, color, letters, words, numbers, and measurements.
When a student learns to push a table from one place to another or when they make rhythmic sounds using spoon or hands on the surface of the table, then the motor function develops. When parents and siblings make the student do each task, when they talk to each other, mingle with one another, the psycho-social function and language develops. Any multisensory experience results in comprehension. As a result, the student learns the purpose of the task; this leads to cognition! When the four functions develop simultaneously, the four skills necessary for a person to become self reliant also develop.
As a result of all these, the comprehension of the person improves. When the person does the task repeatedly he/she acquires competency; when he/she does it in his/her own way, he/she acquires creativity. This is the Three Cs Concept. It helps the mentally challenged person to transform into a totally developed person. The person becomes capable of looking after his/her own affairs, get employed, earn money, acquire self-esteem and become part of the community.
Kit 1
This Kit is divided into seven sections. Teachers, parents, educationists and others are welcome to use the sections in any order that they deem fit. Care is to be taken not to force the pupils; instead an atmosphere of excitement and curiosity and happiness in 'learning' ought to be inculcated.
(c)Central Institute on Mental Retardation, India.